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[shrubbyscribe]

When The Sun Chases The Moon From The Sky (ch3)

I started this chapter. And then it kept going… and going… and going.

Thank you all for the likes, reblogs, and follows! I appreciate all of your support! Please enjoy!

Day and Night AU is by @beanpots

AO3 Chapter 1 Chapter 2

“I want to know more about Selene and I want to learn everything about you.”

Those had been Viktor’s parting words to Yuuri less than twenty four hours ago.

Yuuri could feel his heart race each time he remembered them. Their time spent together the previous night had kept Yuuri awake through the day hours as he mentally went over everything that had happened. Viktor had confirmed the roses were sent by him, they had casually spent the night together enjoying the festival, and they had even exchanged charms as gifts.

Did that qualify as a date?

Phichit seemed to think so when Yuuri had been cornered by his best friend to spill every detail when he had returned to the palace at dawn.

Yuuri could feel the weight of the sun charm tucked safely in his sleeve pocket. He didn’t know why he was still carrying it around but every time he went to put  it down, he couldn’t. It was a reminder that his time with Viktor was real.

And maybe, it would happen again.

Viktor had said Yuuri would be hearing from him soon, though he never specified what that meant. Would it be a few days? A week? An entire lunar cycle? Maybe longer?

The idea that he could hear from Viktor at any moment was eating away at him…

“Yuuri,” Mari drawled, and the sound of his name to bring him back to the present.

He gave his older sister an apologetic smile before focusing on the task at hand. She liked to accompany Yuuri during some of his kingly duties, mostly the ones where he used the magical abilities she hadn’t inherited from their parents. And the task at hand was to do something of a maintenance check on the night sky.

They were in the Star Atrium, the most sacred area of Selene’s palace grounds, where every ruler of Selene was crowned and managed the sky above. Small sconces were scattered around the circular room and each held a small blue flame to provide a soft light to the area. The walls were decorated with the patterns of constellations, star clusters, and galaxies previous rulers had shaped into the sky, serving to remind the current king of their notable accomplishments.

Yuuri’s eyes drifted over the glowing pattern of Lyra on a nearby wall; five small points glowing bright white where each star made up the constellation and soft yellow lines were drawn around to make the shape of a lyre. Etched beside that, a glowing orange spot with blue tendrils swirled around it to represent a spiral galaxy a previous king had placed deep in the sky.

Even their father Toshiya had a few star clusters decorating the walls.

Yuuri would one day add something as well to the sky above and have it appear on the walls surrounding them. But on this night, he was only checking everything to be where they should.

With a deep breath, he turned his eyes upward to the glass ceiling. The beams were arranged in a grid-like pattern which allowed an easy assessment of where each star was located in the sky. Yuuri raised his arms, feeling the sensation of magic drifting to his fingertips and with a small flick of his wrist, he gently nudged Vega back into proper place for Lyra, seeing it had started to drift away. He gathered the star cluster Pleiades back together neatly next to Taurus and corrected the curve of Ursa Minor.

He could close his eyes and easily envision the night sky around him, his body easily gliding between the stars and moon with confidence at the familiarity. His feet moved him across the open floor gracefully, the weight of the star cloak swung out behind him and from it, the night sky from above spilled out of it to fill the entire room.

It was easy to clear his mind and only focus on the magic surrounding him. To lose himself among the familiar constellation patterns he had known and memorized since he was a child. To feel the warmth of the brighter stars in his palms and the silky tendrils of swirling galaxies slipping between his fingers.

Yuuri could almost hear a song in his head, guiding his movements in a natural sway around the room.

His worries about Viktor’s parting words melted away, dissolving into metaphorical stardust as Yuuri’s feet moved in time to the silent melody.

He could think about that later.

For now it was just him and dark universe he could immerse himself in…

A loud bang and a shout of his name startled Yuuri out of his trance. He barely managed to keep from tripping over himself as he came to a halt and looked to the entrance while the magic filling the room dissipated immediately.

Minako was standing in the doorway, slightly out of breath and clearly frazzled as she marched toward the royal siblings. The commandant of the Night Guard ignored any sort of proper greeting which already alerted Yuuri to something being out of place.

“You need to come to the front gates right away,” she stated while moving to grab Yuuri’s wrist. A quick swivel on her heel had the woman marching back out the door with her king in tow.

“W-what happened?” Yuuri questioned as he allowed himself to be lead at a quick pace. A glance back confirmed Mari was following after them, easily keeping pace with Minako’s long stride.

It didn’t seem there was much room for conversation when Minako responded with a quick “You’ll see when we get there.”

The trip across the grounds to the palace entryway was rushed with no interruptions from anyone they passed by; Yuuri partially chalked that up to the commandant looking ready for war as she blazed the way. The badges on her lightweight armor glinted in the different colorful lights lining the palace walls, serving a quiet reminder of her high rank of the Night Guard; which she had ascended to quickly after being relieved of her personal guard status of Yuuri when he had come of age.

Otabek was waiting for them at the entrance with his stern expression as he guarded the door with purpose. Seeing his superior officer and king, he raised his right fist to rest over the crescent moon emblem on his uniform in greeting when they approached. Minako returned the gesture while Yuuri stared down at the dog sitting at the man’s feet.

“Is that…” Yuuri couldn’t bring himself to finish the question.

The dog in question, however, immediately perked up upon noticing the king and bounded over to Yuuri without hesitation, knocking him over in one swift movement to lick at his face. The king made a startled sound but waved off Otabek with one hand as he attempted to push the creature away with the other; its fur was as soft as the cumulus clouds Viktor had supposedly crafted it from the day he had been crowned King of Theia.

Yuuri wiped a wet cheek with his sleeve when he finally managed to get the dog to sit back and properly look at him.

“It’s Makkachin,” Minako stated seriously as she gazed down at the pair on the ground.

Minako had been right to be concerned. Makkachin was well known between Theia and Selene not only for its origin but also for the common knowledge that the dog was rarely separated from Viktor. If it was here then that meant…

“Yuuri, why didn’t you tell us His Grace would be stopping by today?” Hiroko called to get her son’s attention.

Time seemed to slow down as Yuuri turned his head in the direction of her voice and his dark eyes met blue. His mother was escorting Theia’s king up the palace steps and Yuuri could feel the eyes of his subjects on him but Viktor’s presence drew his attention. He could only focus on Viktor.

Viktor, who was now standing in front of him.

Who was holding out a hand to him.

Who was pulling him up.

Who was smiling down at him with that brilliant radiance before turning it on their captivated audience.

Who was addressing Yuuri’s family and royal guard with an ease of a longtime friend rather than a foreign ruler.

“I’ve come to realize how little I know about Selene and have decided to learn everything to better understand the shared bond of our kingdoms.”

Oh.

Viktor really had arrived for a visit.

Yuuri could understand the intention as well. His own lessons prior to ascending the throne had enforced keeping good relations with Theia. It was important the kingdoms maintained proper balance in power given their shared space in the sky and the physical closeness of the kingdoms themselves.

But even so, it was uncommon for the rulers to arrive unannounced. And without any sort of company at all…

At the very least he should have brought Yurio along. “The dawn always ushers in the day” was the common phrase of Theia and Selene. For even the Prime Minister of Dawn to be missing, there must have been another reason for Viktor to have arrived without warning.

“And so, that is why I decided to stay here.”

A questioning sound escaped Yuuri’s throat as he finally focused on Viktor. He had been so lost in his thoughts he had really only been staring at the glow surrounding the other man rather than actually looking at him. Or behind him. Lower ranking officers of the Night Guard were carrying a large amount of luggage up the staircase leading to the castle.

Viktor was staying.

“So where is my room?” Viktor beamed.

In Selene.

Yuuri was at a loss for words as the other king’s gaze fell to him once again.

His family had moved to a private residence on the castle grounds once Yuuri had ascended the throne. Minako and Otabek stayed in the garrisons of the Night Guard and Phichit had been assigned the designed house of the Prime Minister of Dusk. None of those would be up to standard of housing a king.

“There’s still an unused room in the palace,” Hiroko offered, seeming to be the only one of the group who was pleased with the development. “We’ll bring Your Grace’s belongings there.”

Yuuri glanced over at his mother in gratitude, she was always able to handle surprising situations with elegance when she ruled as queen and she hadn’t lost her touch.

“Wonderful!” Viktor seemed to glow even brighter, squeezing the hand Yuuri realized he had never let go of while they were standing in front of his family and guard. “Thank you for welcoming me into your home.”

Yuuri had a feeling things were about to become a lot livelier in the kingdom of Selene…

*

Yuuri took the first opportunity to slip away from Viktor’s brilliant gaze.

It wasn’t that he didn’t like Viktor being there, he was just needed to wrap his mind around the fact that he would be seeing the other king a lot more frequently now.

Not to mention Minako looked ready to sit Yuuri down for a very long interrogation session about why Theia’s king just showed up on their doorstep and what he knew about it.

So when Mari volunteered to clear out the vacant room in the palace, he had seen the lifeline she had thrown him and grasped it firmly by offering to help.

It wasn’t unusual for the royal family to do some manual labor around the palace, most of Yuuri’s duties maintaining Selene were physically demanding at times and part of the reason his father had stepped down from the throne.

Hiroko had stepped in to lead Viktor away to the kitchens, wanting to welcome him properly with a meal after his travels as she was prone to do for all guests to Selene.

As it was, the royal siblings were in Yuuri’s childhood room, down the hall from his current one. Mari fitted a fresh set of sheets on the bed while Yuuri tidied up the provided guest furniture. As the Night Guard filed in Viktor’s belongings. Yuuri started wonder if there would ever be an end to it.

Just how long was Viktor planning on staying?

Mari made a curious noise from across the room and fished a stack of papers out from under the bed.

“Do you know what these are, Yuuri?”

The king felt his face immediately flush a deep blue as he watched his sister flip through the stack. He rushed over, trying to take the papers from her but what Mari lacked in magical abilities, she made up for in being an experienced older sibling. Which meant that despite Yuuri’s few inches of height on her, the woman was still the best at playing keep-away.

“Hiding some declarations of love in here?” She teased, quickly sidestepping his grabbing attempts as she held out the stack as far as her arm would reach even though it kept her from being able to look through it.

“N-no!” Yuuri stammered out unconvincingly. “They’re nothing. Just… give them here.”

One of the papers came loose and fluttered down to the floor between them. The page was covered in designs for a sun constellation a younger Yuuri had drafted long ago.

The two siblings stared down at it, unmoving.

Yuuri was the first to break the silence as he buried his face in his hands and groaned. Waited for the laughter and teasing while Mari reached down to pick it up.

It wasn’t uncommon for the rulers of Selene to add to the night sky something they were passionate about. Or someone…

Yuuri’s interest in Viktor was no secret to any member of Selene’s royal court but never had it been so blatantly obvious it was more than admiration…

Mari’s hand ruffle his hair, easily passing through the crown of constellations without any magic of her own to interfere with its placement.

“Here.” Her voice was soft, her smile was understanding as she finally relinquished the papers to Yuuri. “Go hide those away before Phichit finds them and paints them into his next masterpiece.”

*

When the Prime Minister of Dusk arrived for the evening, he was in a tizzy and had instantly tracked Yuuri down to relay the latest gossip of the kingdoms in the sanctity of his study in the castle.

Apparently the royals of Theia were in a panic at the sudden disappearance of their king. Viktor had been missing since dusk and his room had been found cleared out. Yakov was trying to keep quiet about the situation but it could mean disaster for Theia to be without a king! Plus, with the sun crown being taken with him, the disappearance could be an act to seize control of Theia by kidnapping the king.

Yuuri groaned as he sunk his head down to the banister of Phichit’s balcony. He was tempted to not reveal the actual whereabouts of the missing king. While Theia and Selene were on good terms with one another, he’d rather not have the Sun Guard marching up his palace steps under the assumption Viktor had been kidnapped in an attempt to shift the balance of power.

But Phichit needed to know. Because soon everyone in Theia and Selene would know.

“He’s here?” the younger man exclaimed when Yuuri broke the news to him.

A charming laugh had carried up from the palace grounds as if in reply and Phichit moved to join Yuuri on the balcony to spy Viktor, ruler of the day, strolling through Selene’s palace grounds as though they were his own.

He was easy to spot with the golden glow about him and the pale yellow shade of his robes. Makkachin bounced alongside its owner, a faint but still present glow around its frame as well. Yuuri’s father, Toshiya, seemed to have decided give Viktor some company as he walked the grounds. Thankfully, with the newly waxing moon, the grounds were bathed in pale moonlight, allowing easy visibility for one not accustom to the full darkness of night.

“He really is here…” Phichit murmured beside him and Yuuri could only nod in response.

His eyes followed Viktor’s every move without meaning to; he seemed to draw in the gaze of all those around him much like the fireflies that would take up residence in Selene during the summer nights.

But unlike the summer visitors, Viktor seemed aware of his surroundings enough to notice he was being watched.

Yuuri considered ducking down behind the banister when Viktor looked around the area but he was spotted too soon.

“Yuuri!” Viktor called out cheerfully with a wave. They were only a story up from the ground, it was easy enough to hold a conversation.

“Yuuri, if you’re finished with the evening report, come down and show our guest the grounds,” Toshiya said with a smile.

Yuuri couldn’t outright refuse his father but to be alone with Viktor…

I want to learn everything about you…

Yuuri could feel his face flush as those words echoed in his head and he seriously considered curling up behind the banister to hide his embarrassment.

Phichit, noticing the hesitance, answered for Yuuri as he smiled down at Viktor and placed his hands on his friend’s shoulders. “He’ll be down in just a moment, Your Grace.”

Yuuri didn’t realize how tense he’d become until Phichit guided him back into his study.

Though “study” wasn’t quite the appropriate term. It was more or less a room full of painting supplies and canvases scattered everywhere.

As Prime Minister of Dusk, Phichit’s main job was to paint the sky at the end of every day to allow the transition to night and as such, the walls were lined with canvases of countless versions of the setting sun fading into the night sky. Not one to waste his creativity, Phichit liked to keep a stock pile of every sunset he could imagine, even asking Yuuri to add in some stars here and there to add dramatic flair.

Phichit gently squeezed Yuuri’s shoulders in a show of support, “Don’t worry, you already survived one night completely alone with His Grace at the New Moon Festival. You must have done something right the charm him into wanting a second date so soon.”

Yuuri blushed and hid his face in his hands but he couldn’t stop the smile that crept onto his face. Viktor had told his family he was staying to learn more about Selene but they didn’t know the other reason. Yuuri had asked Phichit to stay quiet about the lunar cycle of roses, the returned bouquet, and the evening spent with Theia’s king.

He still hadn’t told his best friend everything about that night. He wanted to keep the charm exchange and Viktor’s parting words to himself for just a while longer; things only meant to exist between the two of them.

Viktor’s words that caused his heart to skip and stomach to flutter were still there but Yuuri felt a bit calmer. He took a few deep breaths and forced his shoulders to relax under Phichit’s hold before smiling at his best friend in gratitude.

“Now,” Phichit started, giving Yuuri a gentle push towards the door with a teasing smile, “it seems I suddenly have a lot of work to do and little time to do it with my king here distracting me.”

Yuuri couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s theatrics. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest.

“You’re right, I hear there is an important guest in the courtyard and it would leave a bad impression to keep him waiting much longer.”

*

His father had taken his leave by the time Yuuri made his way into the courtyard, leaving Viktor to study one of the statues decorating the area as he waited and Makkachin explored the other half of the grounds.

“What is this piece?” Viktor asked as Yuuri came to stand beside him.

“This was a gift from Hypnos, the City of Dreams,” Yuuri answered, giving the artwork a look over.

The sculpture was taller than the two of them; a large jar carved from marble with intricate patterns etched into the rim was tipped on its side and stars made of every type of crystal spilled out of it into a marble pool with a pitch black basin.

Viktor hummed curiously as he tilted his head to the side. “I’ve never heard of Hypnos.”

“Most kingdoms haven’t. They only have an alliance with Selene.”

“What? Really? Why is that?” Viktor was looking at him with wonder and Yuuri recalled the history he was taught as a child.

“Hypnos is a dangerous kingdom but it also serves to revitalize every person and creature of our world when we sleep,” he began. “Their king is eternal and must not be disturbed from his deep slumber but the city is so dark, dreamers visiting Hypnos, and even the residents themselves, would become lost and never wake again.

“Selene, being the Kingdom of Night, was the only one capable of forging an alliance; we can pass through the darkness without trouble and we offered a way to guide the dreamers through the city without waking the king. ”

Yuuri waved a hand at the statue and Viktor gasped in excitement as the subtle magic inscribed in the stars activated, lighting them up and giving the illusion they were tumbling down into the awaiting pool.

“Starlight is gentle enough not to disrupt the darkness of the city so Selene made a bargain with Hypnos; while Selene couldn’t give them the stars from the sky, if they collected our fallen stars, Selene would recharge them to hold their brightness again.” Yuuri glanced up at the night sky twinkling above as he continued, “Since they can’t be placed back in the sky, Selene had no real purpose for them.

Viktor hummed in thought and Yuuri nervously glanced over at him, afraid he had rambled on too long but the other king was now looking upward at the sky with a new form of fascination. That was a good sign.

“Unknown kingdoms, a secret history, stars falling…” Viktor listed off, lifting a finger to tap at his lips before giving Yuuri a sideways glance and a knowing smile that made the younger king’s stomach do a flip. “It seems I have a lot to learn.”

Yuuri blushed under the gaze but he could feel a small wave of confidence growing.

“Then let me show you,” he said.

A quick glance at the sky was all Yuuri needed to locate the weak pulse of a star ready to fall any moment.

Back when he was younger, Yuuri would do this with Mari when a star shower wasn’t expected for a while. It had been one of the first things he had learned to control with his magic and they would spend hours knocking the weaker stars out of the sky much like how the Lunar Garden staff would prune the plants to allow healthy growth.

Yuuri reached out into the sky with his magic, prodding the chosen star. It held little resistance in its spot, wobbling like a precariously placed glass on the edge of a table.

It was easy enough to wedge it free with a quick twist of the wrist and the star came loose, descending from above.

He heard Viktor gasp and looked over to see his blue eyes widen in amazement, following the star as it fell towards the ground and landed with a small clink a few feet away.

Yuuri moved to collect the small item and brought it over to Viktor. The star was cold as ice; a sign it wasn’t meant to last much longer and the light flickered weakly inside its crystal shell.

He deposited the small object into Viktor’s gloved hands and watched him poke and prod at it. He turned the star this way and that, holding it up to the light of the moon to get a better look and watching the last bit of light finally snuff itself out.

“Amazing!” Viktor chimed in delight and Yuuri couldn’t help but smile. It was something so normal to him and the residents of Selene but seeing Viktor’s reaction was endearing.

“And now we can recharge it,” Yuuri instructed, moving closer to stand in front of the other king.

He almost lost his nerve when those azure eyes met his dark brown. But the intrigued smile encouraged Yuuri to continue as Viktor nodded and held up the crystal shell between them.

Before he could hesitate any further, Yuuri lifted his hands to cradle Viktor’s. The fabric was soft to the touch and Yuuri had to fight back the urge to run his fingers over it. Instead, he focused on the crystal, imagining energy flowing back into it.

Yuuri would do this with Mari back when they were children. Even though she did not possess the ability to use magic, it was still a part of her through lineage. All Yuuri had to do was manipulate it with his own to make it work.

It was one of the most basic forms of magic that anyone adept was taught but every ruler needed to know them before they could do anything more advanced such as altering the alignment of stars or learning to fix the swirl of a  galaxy.

As Yuuri focused his energy into his palms to reach through to Viktor’s own, he felt something of a shock go through his hands.

He really shouldn’t have been surprised given that the king of Theia should have a similar amount of magic. Everything about their two kingdoms was about balance. But it was the first time Yuuri had felt something equal to the magic coursing through him after being crowned.

It was dangerous and alluring.

Yuuri forced himself to remain in contact with Viktor as the crystal began to flicker again with new life. He heard Viktor make a soft sound of excitement but didn’t dare look up. His heart was already racing in his chest, he didn’t want to chance it getting worse seeing the expression the other man was making.

The star soon came to a steady light and in the quiet moments following, Yuuri felt like something else was stirring around them. It made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and he realized just how close he was to Viktor. The fringe of the other man’s hair was tickling his cheek and he felt a strange pull between them that Yuuri wasn’t sure he wanted to resist.

He wanted to be closer.

He needed to be closer.

Before he could act, the star between them rose up from their joined hands, pushing its way between them to force some distance, and some sanity, between them. It floated between their faces for a few moments before darting off across the palace grounds and over the walls as the two kings watched it go.

“Where is it going?” Viktor asked, though there was a distracted tone to his voice.

“Hypnos called to it, like all recharged stars,” Yuuri heard himself explain though his mind was elsewhere.

The warmth of the gloves were still under his hands and Yuuri was definitely moving his thumbs over the fabric now. When had he started that? Viktor didn’t seem to care either way. Or maybe he didn’t notice.

The entangling of their magic had stopped once the star had taken off but there was still a static sensation surrounding them.

Yuuri mentally steeled himself before he turned his head back to look directly at Viktor, jolting a bit when he was met with an intense azure stare.

It wasn’t anger but Viktor’s expression was that of a man trying to solve a complicated riddle with a simple answer. It soften quickly enough, though Yuuri wasn’t sure if that was a good thing because now it was something he couldn’t recognize. The gaze was still intense but there was a new meaning to it.

“Your Grace…?” Yuuri’s voice was barely above a whisper but it was heard clearly in the little space between them.

Viktor stopped any further words as he raised a finger to lightly rest against Yuuri’s lips. He moved impossibly closer and Yuuri was forced to tilt his head back partially to maintain eye contact, his newly freed hand hesitantly moving to rest against the other man’s chest while the other was held gently by Viktor’s.

“Yuuri,” Viktor’s tone was stern but something else lurked under it. Combined with the half-lidded gaze and the growing tension of something between them, it was enough to send a noticeable shiver down Yuuri’s spine. “We’re both rulers of our kingdoms, there’s no need for formalities or titles. Call me by my name.”

If Yuuri wasn’t blushing before, he certainly was now.

He could feel his breath caught in his throat and his head was swimming at the command.

Viktor was all he could see, all he could feel. As the sun overtook the sky and covered the light of the stars during the day, Viktor was overtaking all of Yuuri’s senses and drowning him.

I want to learn everything about you…

“Viktor…” Yuuri breathed out against the gloved finger and there was no mistaking the tremble he felt under his hands.

The vibrations of a hum traveled through Viktor’s chest and Yuuri was certain he was going to crumble under the intensity when those blue eyes came closer. The finger on Yuuri’s lips trailed down to his chin to rest under it.

Yuuri felt a warm breath ghost across his lips…

“Viktor! I knew you were hiding here!”

Startled by Yurio’s shout, Yuuri quickly pulled away from Viktor. The spell of whatever was going to happen had been broken.

Yuuri held one hand over his chest trying to get his heart rate back to a normal pace while the other rested against his blazing hot cheek in an attempt to will away the blush. He couldn’t even look at Viktor.

“Ah, Yurio!” Viktor was back to his easygoing tone. “What brings you here?”

“You know why. You disappeared without a word when the day ended, your room was cleared out, and you took your mutt with you,” Yurio spoke harshly to his king, stalking toward the pair. “Everyone at the castle is searching for you or convinced you were stolen away by some other kingdom.”

Yuuri stopped in front of them, giving the night king a full critical look up and down before crossing his arms, “Looks like Yakov wasn’t fully off the mark.”

Viktor, ignoring the last comment, wagged a finger at the Prime Minister of Dawn.” If I had said where I was going, you and Yakov would have definitely tried to stop me.”

“You’re damn right we would have! You can’t just leave on your own, you have a kingdom to rule. You’re lucky I was the one to figure out you were here before anyone else. Before I left, I heard Georgi talking about sending out the Sun Guard to bust down every kingdom’s door until you were found.”

So it was as bad as Phichit had relayed earlier and getting worse…

“You’ve had your fun, now let’s go,” Yurio stated, leaving no room for argument.

“I don’t want to,” Viktor stated in petulance and pouted as he moved to hide behind Yuuri’s smaller frame. Clearly there was room for argument. “Yuuri was teaching me about Selene so I can have a better understanding of our kingdoms’ shared bond.”

Yurio was unconvinced. “We have a library at the palace for that. If you actually went there to study instead of playing with clouds all the time, you would know all you need to about this dismal kingdom and we would have all been spared this whole ordeal.”

“Actually, Selene omitted a lot of crucial points of its history from textbooks that would be kept in libraries other than its own. It would do Viktor well to learn directly from the source.” Yuuri recognized the voice as his own but it was hard to imagine he was the one talking. He just couldn’t stop himself, hearing that Viktor was to leave after… whatever it was that transpired between them. He couldn’t let it happen.

“Sounds like a ploy to hold him hostage in your kingdom,” Yurio snapped. He was not backing down easily.

And neither was Yuuri.

If the young Prime Minister of Dawn had come to seriously take back Theia’s king, he would have brought the Day Guard. It was easy to assume Otabek had allowed him to enter Selene’s palace based on Yurio’s position but the captain wouldn’t have let him stray too far out of his sight.

Yuuri set his jaw and looked down at Yurio; severely lacking the discipline required for speaking to those in positions above him. Yuuri folded his hands into the sleeves of his robe, a technique he often used while holding court in response to unruly visitors as it held an unspoken message that he would not be intimidated.

Yuuri felt his fingertips brush over the sun charm still hidden away in his sleeve.

He couldn’t let Yurio take Viktor away…

No.

He wouldn’t let Yurio take Viktor away.

“Theia and Selene have held an equal share of power since the kingdoms were created,” Yuuri stated firmly. “To understand that balance, your king has chosen to stay here and learn what is required in order to maintain that balance. I have accepted him into my home, given him the proper accommodations, and have granted him access to all of my kingdom as a token of my trust. While you may have come here alone to avoid any attention from Theia’s council, I shouldn’t have to remind you that you’re still on foreign soil and what you have been alluding to is grounds enough for me to take you hostage in the event Theia does decide to use armed forces against Selene. You may be associates with Captain Altin and assume you are safe to make whatever claims you like but allow me to remind you, the captain’s loyalties are to my safety and Selene’s protection.

“Now, I will grant you safe passage back to Theia and you will tell His Former Grace Yakov that Viktor is free to come and go as he wishes but if the Sun Guard becomes involved, I will have no choice but to take that as a threat to Selene’s well being and I will respond in kind which, I’m not sure you’re aware, would be detrimental to the relations of our kingdoms. Even more so with your king behind my walls.”

The teenager was clearly flustered under the onslaught of words. Minako had taught Yuuri the tactic for situations that could turn hostile; put out all your argument points all at once without letting the other party respond, finish with a subtle threat, and watch as it buys you time while they struggle with what to answer first while under pressure of open hostilities arising.

Yuuri nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Viktor’s hand rest heavily on his shoulder, forcing him into a more relaxed posture while the taller man laughed in a lighthearted manner.

“You’ve been out-maneuvered, Yurio,” Theia’s king said with a smile. “There’s no need to call in the Day Guard. I left Theia of my own volition and I will return when my business is finished here.”

“Then who will hold court?” Yurio was quick to snap.

Viktor hummed before tilting his head and giving a brighter smile, “Why not you?”

Both younger men made a sound of surprise as they gawked at Viktor.

“Yurio, you need to learn better etiquette when speaking to other nobles and especially ones in a high position than you,” Theia’s king explained. “I’ll grant you the temporary allowance to hold court in my absence and address any problems as you see fit while I learn what I must over here in Selene. I’m sure Yakov and Lila will be more than happy to provide council.”

For a second time, Yurio was left speechless. He was looking at Viktor like he had grown a second head and was trying to figure out which one to look at.

Viktor, paying the baffled expression no mind, turned his attention Yuuri next. “I think that settles this dispute,” he said with his charming smile and a gentle squeeze of Yuuri’s shoulder.

Yuuri could only nod in agreement, clearing his throat before addressing the Prime Minister of Dawn.

“Your king has given his answer, please report it to Theia’s council immediately and know our kingdoms remain in good standing for the time being,” Yuuri stated. “Otabek will see you to the palace entrance.”

On cue, the captain of the Moon Guard moved to stand in the doorway, clearly having been present the entirety of the conversation. Yurio glanced back at the guard before throwing once last glare at the pair of kings.

“I’ll rule Theia in your absence, Viktor,” he spat out. “Hide away in this decrepit castle as long as you want. When you get back, Yakov will take that crown off your head and name me ruler of Theia.”

The teenager spun on his heel in defiance, storming out of the courtyard with Otabek following after him dutifully.

Viktor’s sigh was the first thing to break the silence once the tension had left the area with Yurio. “Spouting such ideas of grandeur, he’ll get himself in trouble like that,” Viktor said in exasperation.

Yuuri nodded silently, still trying to process all that had happened. He had been so caught up in the moment when Yurio threatened to take Viktor back, Yuuri hadn’t thought before he spoke. All he knew was that he wanted Viktor to stay with him.

Yuuri could feel heat rising to his face as the realization dawned on him and he quickly turned his head away to hide it. Viktor still hadn’t let go of his shoulder.

“I want to apologize for what I said earlier… about calling the Night Guard on Theia,” Yuuri stammered out. “I didn’t mean to use a threat like that. I would never actually…”

Yuuri’s words trailed off as he felt Viktor’s hand slide down the full length of his arm and loosely grasp his hand with those gloved fingers.

Yuuri bit his lower lip to keep a gasp from escaping when Viktor’s voice was in his ear, lower than he’d ever heard it before. “I’ve had plenty of suitors approach me with gifts and promises beyond your wildest imagination,” Viktor’s warm breath whispered against the shell of his ear, “but none have ever been so bold as to threaten my kingdom and risk losing everything themselves for my attention.”

Yuuri couldn’t stop the shiver than ran through him. He couldn’t look at Viktor like this.

“You really are full of surprises, Yuuri.”

The night king slowly turned his head to look directly at the day king, eyebrow arched in disbelief.

“I’m full of surprises?” Yuuri questioned, trying to ignore the lack of distance between them or the blush that was still very much present especially when he became aware of that fact. “You left Theia without a word to your council, stole away to a foreign kingdom in the middle of the night, and just appointed Yurio as the stand-in ruler during your absence. I believe you have bested me in surprises tonight.”

Azure blinked at dark brown.

A tension filled what little space was left between them as the two held each others own incredulous stare.

Yuuri hadn’t thought in all his life he would be in such a situation. He would have laughed at even the thought of maintaining composure in a one-on-one situation with Viktor. Now here he was; capable of forming proper sentences into playful banter with their noses almost touching from how much Viktor had invaded his personal space.

It was ridiculous.

And Yuuri couldn’t stop the laughter erupting from his chest.

He pulled away as he covered his mouth in an attempt to stifle the laugh but was surprised when he heard the other man laughing as well. The two chortled and giggled for a few minutes, Yuuri wasn’t quite sure at what exactly, but the mood between them lightened and left a calm familiarity.

Wiping a tear from his eye once his laughter had calmed, Yuuri glanced up at the sky, noticing the darkness starting to give way to a lighter shade of blue. It was nearing dawn.

“Let me show you to your room,” Yuuri said with a gentle smile a gesture towards the entryway to the palace.

Yuuri enjoyed their companionable walk as they ascended the staircase to the living quarters of the palace. Viktor was still in awe over the different paintings and portraits of past rulers adorning the walls and Makkachin bounced through the hallways in a similar excitement as its creator.

As they paused in front of Viktor’s door, Yuuri turned to face the other king as Makkachin trotted into the room.

“I would suggest trying to get some rest,” Yuuri said with a small smile. “Selene is a harsh environment and it’s especially most unkind to inhabitants of light.”

Yuuri knew neither of them truly required sleep in a normal way. Once they had been crowned, their energy had been linked to the sky itself. Yuuri had found himself capable of going upwards to a week without actually laying down in a bed and sleeping. It would have been similar for Viktor.

Viktor nodded in acknowledgment and for a fourth time that night, Yuuri felt those gloved hands taking his own. He even prided himself on not jumping at the contact.

“You are a caring person, Yuuri,” Viktor rolled his name off his tongue like it was meant to be there.

Yuuri curled his fingers around Viktor’s to return the hold on his hands and his thumbs slid over the soft fabric of the gloves without hesitation. He felt the warmth radiating off of Viktor’s body like the glow that surrounded him, both mimicking the sunlight that shown upon the world.

“My kingdom may seem unwelcoming to outsiders but you are an honored guest,” Yuuri spoke with sincerity. “And I hope you find the answers that you seek here.”

“I believe I will.”

A silence hung between them as they gazed at one another.

Yuuri could feel a slight chill run down his spine as he felt a sense of anticipation. A sense that something was going to happen.

And Yuuri wasn’t going to be caught off guard again.

Giving Viktor’s hands a slight squeeze, Yuuri used them as a balance between them as he lifted himself onto his toes and leaned forward.

His lips brushed against Viktor’s cheek as he spoke softly next to his ear.

“May the morningtide be kind to you, Viktor.”

A common phrase of Selene residents when the night ended and dawn began.

Yuuri lowered himself down and pulled away from Viktor. He noticed how the other king let Yuuri’s fingers slide out of his grip but only released him at the last moment as if he was debating if he should pull Yuuri back. Yuuri also made sure to take a look at Viktor’s face before he turned away. He enjoyed the surprise and what was definitely a blush on that face which was always calm and collected, so good at hiding what Viktor was really feeling.

Yuuri forced himself to walk down the hall at a steady, calm pace even though his heart racing and a blush was rising once again to his face.

He could feel eyes those azure eyes burrowing into his back until he retreated into his room and was able to finally let go of the breath he was holding.

Yuuri closed his eyes and sunk his weight back against his door. He took deep breathes to try to calm himself and could see his hands were shaking but his face was hurting from how much he was smiling. Tears were stinging at the corner of his eyes from the happiness welling up in his chest.

Viktor was staying.

#day and night au #yuri on ice #yoi fanfic #victuuri #yuri katsuki #victor nikiforov

[shrubbyscribe]

When The Sun Chases The Moon From The Sky (ch 2)

Sorry for the wait! I wasn't expecting to get such positive reception to a fic I simply wrote on a whim one night and after reading all your responses on AO3 and tumblr, I wanted to take the time to flesh out how I see this AU and how the world of Theia and Selene works.

Thank you everyone for your support! I hope you continue to enjoy.

Day and Night AU is by @beanpots

AO3 Chapter 1

He was not going to see Viktor.

It was twelve hours before the fated meeting time and Yuuri was huddled under the covers of his bed with no intention of leaving anytime soon. How could he have been so naïve? Meet Viktor in the Eos Garden on the full moon? There was no way. Yuuri knew exactly how the scenario would play out: they would meet, Yuuri would embarrass himself by being unable to even form a coherent sentence, and then he’d definitely die on the spot from embarrassment.

No thank you. Not happening.

A soft knock on the bedroom door brought Yuuri out of his thoughts. He was barely able to hear Phichit through the door and the blanket pulled over his head.

“Yuuri! Are you getting ready for your date tonight?”

The king blushed at the question and pulled the blanket tighter himself. Phichit had been ecstatic when he read the note Yuuri had received from Theia’s king and hadn’t stopped talking about it since.

“It’s not a date!” Yuuri corrected him, “And I’m not going...”

“You’re what?”

“I’m not going!”

There was a moment of silence between them before Yuuri heard a sigh come from Phichit’s side of the door.

“As your prime minister, I understand and respect your decision, Your Majesty...” The younger man sounded upset and Yuuri felt a twinge of guilt. He poked his head out of the blanket cocoon to glance over at the door. Maybe he should go talk to him?

The door slammed open and bounced against the wall as Phichit stormed in with a frown. He grabbed an edge of the blanket and practically twirled Yuuri out of it before the king could react.

“As you friend, however, there is no way I’m letting you miss this opportunity,” the younger man declared, tossing the blanket to the other side of the room and placing his hands defiantly on his hips. “You were over the moon about this two weeks ago when Yurio delivered that message from His Grace, you can’t back out now!”

Yuuri blinked up at the Minister of Dusk, unsure how to respond. Phichit wasn’t wrong and they both knew that.

“Look,” Phichit sighed, “You may be nervous but this is a great opportunity for you. You’ve always idolized King Viktor and I know you’ll be kicking yourself later if you decide to stay here. Not to mention it’ll be a casual meeting so it’ll probably go easier without two kingdoms worth of eyes on you as they are at the Galas. But you won’t know unless you go.”

Yuuri held the young man's gaze before sighing and pushing himself off the bed. He walked past the prime minister and out to the window balcony of his room, hearing Phichit follow him.

Due to the magical barrier around Selene, the kingdom never truly saw the sun despite it being midday. The sky was a muted blue that gradually turned to a soft orange color where the barriers of the two kingdoms met and canceled out one another. The court were they held attendance and the Eos Garden were located there.

If Yuuri squinted, he could make out the silhouette of Theia's palace on the horizon. The Kingdom of Light would be bright in the midday sun at this time with people bustling around in the markets and shops. Yuuri had never visited Theia at night but his father, the king before him, had explained the sky over there never truly darkened. Similar to Selene, it would hold a pale blue color through the night until the sun rose again.

“You ever wonder what it's like over there?” Phichit asked softly after a while. He had crossed his arms and leaned them against the railing to gaze out to their sister kingdom. “I’ve heard there are people who are afraid of the dark and have never left the safety of Theia's light.”

Afraid of the dark? Yuuri knew the dark better than anyone and the dangers it held but he had also heard and equal amount of tales of terrible things happening in the light of the sun.

“But,” Phichit continued, “There are also residents of Selene who have never left in fear of what they would see in the light.”

Yuuri stayed quiet, tipping his head down to look at his hands resting on the banister. He understood what Phichit was trying to tell him. As the king of Selene, he had to set an example to his subjects. He needed to have the courage to go face the light and whatever awaited him there. And Viktor was the brightest light of Theia...

“You're too good at your job,” Yuuri finally said with a groan after a few minutes. He had definitely lost this one.

“You’re the one who chose me to be a negotiator,” Phichit wagged a finger in Yuuri’s direction before his face brightened as he turned to his king. “Then you'll go?”

“I'll go.”

Phichit gave a small cheer before taking Yuuri's hands and pulling him back into the room.

“Then let's get started, we haven’t a moment to lose!”

*

The Eos Garden was filled with the golden light of the setting sun when Yuuri arrived. The garden was a tranquil place that was enjoyed by Theia's and Selene's residents, both kingdoms had contributed foliage and sculptures to decorated the area and give a welcoming sense of unity.

Yuuri lightly tugged at his sleeve as he walked through the garden. “It’s just a casual meet up,” Phichit had insisted while going through Yuuri's closet. “No need to act like it's a formal business exchange.”

In the end, they had decided on the traditional clothes of Yuuri's ancestry; a simple dark blue kimono with a black haori. As soon as he'd slipped them on, stars spilled from his crown down onto the fabric.

When he had originally been crowned, Yuuri had seen it as an overly dramatic flair that didn’t suit him, he wasn’t the flashy type. But as time had passed, he eventually came to accept that being the ruler of Selene meant being the physical embodiment of the night sky so everything he wore would be covered in stars and his choker would always reflect the phase of the moon.

Yuuri’s hands continued to fidget as he approached the reflecting pond located in the middle of the garden. It was the unofficial meeting spot between parties visiting the Eos Garden. It was where Viktor would be.

The pond bounced the light from the setting sun around the area as if it was offering the foliage of the area one last drink of warmth before the cooler night set in. But even with the sun setting and the gold tint on everything, Yuuri's eyes were immediately drawn to the only other figure standing beside the water.

The Radiant King of Theia lived up to his title. His usual platinum hair had a soft, golden sheen in the sunset and he himself held a brilliant glow not unlike the roses from the Solar Garden. He was also dressed in casual attire, Yuuri noticed. He wore a high collar white tunic, the cumulus cloud that usually adorned his neck wrapped around his waist as a belt. The top was untucked, flowing loosely over his fitted red trousers. The golden sun crown still sat atop his head, glowing with the sun.

He still looked every bit a king.

And when those blue eyes met his gaze and those lips turned up in a smile, Yuuri felt his breath hitch and heart skip a beat.

What was he supposed to say? Should he greet him? He should probably say something. And it should probably be something intelligent to distract from the fact he was doing a great imitation of a fish.

He somehow managed to make his voice work, wavering as it was. “I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long, Your Gra-”

“Yuuri!” Viktor cut him off, ignoring any and all formalities, “I'm glad you could make it.”

With a few quick steps, Theia’s king was standing in front of him and Yuuri could subconsciously feel himself shrinking under Viktor’s attention.

“After you returned all of my roses, I was worried you'd brush me off again,” Viktor hummed, eyes hooded and a sly grin forming.

Yuuri blushed deeply at the direct confession. He had only been guessing that Viktor had been the one sending him the flowers daily but hearing the other king confirm it made his stomach flutter.

“Y-yes, well...” Yuuri stammered, trying to find the right words as he looked at everything around them except Viktor. His gaze was too intense, it was like looking directly into the sun. “As I said, they were appreciated but Selene is too harsh an environment for them. They need sunlight to survive and my kingdom has none to offer...”

“Really?” Viktor’s chimed with such a difference in tone, it immediately drew back Yuuri’s attention. The older man had his head tilted and his eyes held a curiosity. “So it is true Selene never sees the sun?”

Yuuri nodded and Viktor seemed even more intrigued so he offered an explanation. “Because of the barrier we have minimal light during the day and mostly rely on the moon as our main light source. Plants that need sunlight die almost instantly so Selene established the Lunar Garden to develop plants capable of taking in moonlight as they would sunlight.”

Talking about Selene was calming in a way. Growing up in the castle, Yuuri had been taught everything there was to know about the kingdom he was to rule one day and reciting everything to an outsider as they casually walked through the Eos Garden was refreshing. It was easy to get used to the luminescent moss used to light pathways and rooms, the neon glowing fish, and even the small festivals they would throw for each full moon. What was commonplace for him was something from a fantastical world to a resident of Theia and Viktor was no exception.

The garden had fallen dark some time ago but Viktor acted as their light guide with the way his being still held the glow of the sun. Yuuri never had an issue navigating the dark being the ruler of the Kingdom of Night but still, he noticed they had drifted together when Viktor’s shoulder brushed against his. Yuuri wondered if Theia’s king could hear his heart still pounding in his chest

“You said Selene holds a festival every full moon?” Viktor inquired, bringing a finger to rest against his lips as he seemed to consider the glowing orb in the sky. “Is one being held tonight?”

“As far as I’m aware, yes.” Yuuri was unsure where the conversation was headed with the question. “The market square vendors are the ones who organize it...”

“I want to see it.”

Yuuri blinked at the words as Viktor smiled brightly down at him. It wasn’t a question. Viktor had every intent on going and Yuuri was going to take him.

“I-it’s nothing like the Eclipse Galas,” Yuuri stammered as he turned his attention to the ground, trying to picture Viktor in such a place was ridiculous. “It's not a fancy event or anything. It's just a monthly gathering for the shop owners to promote seasonal wares. Nobility rarely attends because it's such a small event...”

“Yuuri.”

The way his name rolled off Viktor's tongue in a sound similar to a deep purr sent a shiver down his spine. He nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt warm fingers curl around his hand and tug it in a clear indication to bring his attention back. Mustering up the courage, Yuuri pried his eyes away from the ground and managed to meet Viktor’s gaze. He felt his stomach flutter and he was certain his heart was going to leap out of his chest from the way Viktor was looking at him. Those blue eyes were kind, his smile was genuine, and the hand connecting them gave a gentle squeeze.

“Take pride in your kingdom.”

Yuuri struggled to find his voice, he was certain his face was bright blue from the way he was blushing and there was nothing he could do to hide it. With another tug Viktor pulled him along in the direction of Selene and Yuuri could have sworn his humming almost sounded triumphant.

*

The market square was bustling with the festival atmosphere. Streamers of sparkling blue, black, and silver dangled paper stars between each lamp post, business owners had moved their wares outside the buildings to attract more attention, and the air was filled with the smell of all assortments of tasty treats.

Yuuri had enjoyed the festivals when he was a child and fondly remembered attending them with Minako acting as his personal escort. Though she was assigned to guard him, she had made his adventures outside the palace walls as fun and exciting as possible. Yuuri couldn't help a small laugh as he watched Viktor be as enthralled as he had once been, seemingly oblivious to status he held among the common folk.

It was rare enough for Yuuri stop by.

It was even rarer for anyone other than nobility to meet Theia's ruler.

It was absolutely unprecedented for both kings of Theia and Selene to be seen in public taking a casual stroll through a festival market.

Viktor seemed to flourish in the attention as he almost bounced to each arrangement of wares while Yuuri followed him and answered any questions of “what does this do?” and “what kind of food is this?” As they walked down the way, each attendant and store owner bowed to them with respectful mutterings of “Your Majesty” and “Your Grace.” Some of the bolder merchants approached them about their products, others offered them free food samples, and almost every child present was staring openly with starry eyes at the shining king.

Yuuri couldn’t blame them, at their age he had held a curiosity about Theia’s heir. Back then, he would don commoner clothes and sneak into the back of the shared court at dawn just to catch a glimpse of a younger Viktor. He had worn his hair longer back then and he had yet to hold the glow of the sun bestowed by Theia’s crown but even so, Yuuri had been drawn to him. The way he stood beside the throne as the chosen heir and how the subjects of Theia respected him as equally as their king of the time; he was the embodiment of regal elegance and Yuuri could have watched him for hours.

And now here he was in Yuuri’s kingdom, smiling and interacting with the common folk as if it were a daily occurrence. Here he was spending his free time with Yuuri; a foreign king in a foreign land.

As much as Yuuri didn’t want to admit it, he didn’t want their evening together to end.

But it had to.

The night would come to an end, the sun would rise, and Viktor would need to return to Theia while Yuuri remained in Selene. It was bittersweet but it was the reality of the situation.

It was a few hours until dawn when they left the market square. One of the vendors had graciously gifted each of the kings with a small glowing crystal charm; one carved into a sun and the other a moon. Yuuri had inwardly wondered if it was an intentional marketing ploy. Viktor was fascinated by how the sun in his hand glowed without a source.

“It’s another version of the luminescent moss we use to for our street posts,” Yuuri offered, holding up his own moon charm to get a better look at it. “It looks like it was dried out, crushed, and then mixed into a clear paint.”

“Selene is amazing,” Viktor smiled at him, causing Yuuri’s heart to skip a beat for the umpteenth time that night. “You have a wonderful kingdom, Yuuri. Thank you for showing it to me.”

There is was again, that shiver at the sound of his name. Yuuri had to look away to hide his blush as he absently worried the charm with his thumb.

“I-it was nothing...”

They walked in silence for the small distance it took to reach the Eos Garden and both of them paused at the border. The sky was already starting to lighten.

Yuuri tried to find the right words to say. What was he supposed to say? What he supposed to say anything at all? Was Viktor just going to walk away and that would be it? Just passing strangers at the Eclipse Galas again?

Viktor was the first to break the tension Yuuri felt growing between them.

“I had fun tonight. I really enjoyed spending time with you.”

“M-me too,” Yuuri said to the ground, his voice was barely above a whisper. “I liked showing you around.”

“And I have a keepsake to remember this night,” Viktor's cheerful tone turned deeper, suggestive. “But there is something else I want...”

Yuuri had no time to move before Viktor was standing in front of him. Before Viktor was taking his hands. Before Viktor was leaning in with that sly grin and those knowing eyes...

Yuuri tensed and closed his eyes as he shrunk into himself a bit. He could feel the coolness of the charms against their pressed palms. He could feel the warmth coming from Viktor's body. He felt the brush of Viktor's hair against his flushed cheek.

And then it was gone.

The warmth, the contact, the closeness...

Yuuri cautiously opened an eye to look at Viktor. The man had stepped back and was grinning playfully at him, holding the moon charm up between his fingers.

“I would much prefer the moon instead of the sun.”

Yuuri blinked down at his hand and sure enough, the sun charm was in his palm.

“You'll be hearing from me soon,” Viktor said with a wink. “I want to know more about Selene and I want to learn everything about you.”

And without another word, the Radiant King turned and headed into the Eos Garden to return to his world of light.

Yuuri watched him go, holding the charm to his chest and feeling his heart beating rapidly. His face was still flushed even after Viktor was out of his sight and he was left wondering what exactly he meant by those words.

Chapter 3

#day and night au #yuri on ice #yoi fanfic #victuuri #yuri katsuki #victor nikiforov

[shrubbyscribe]

When The Sun Chases The Moon From The Sky

I wrote this in a fit of inspiration because I’m a slut for fantasy AUs and @beanpots  Day and Night AU for Yuri on Ice did things to my heart.

AO3

The first time it happened, he thought it was a mistake.

Upon approaching the shared throne of Theia and Selene, a single rose was found laid across the seat. The pale yellow petals held a soft light in the dim audience chamber, illuminated only by the royal cloak of stars Yuuri wore and the constellation crown atop his head which always held a gentle glow of starlight. The Prime Minister of Dusk picked up the flower and examined it as his king took his seat.

“A rose from the Solar Garden,” Phichit explained with a smile, “How unusual for it to end up here.”

Yuuri took the offered rose, considering it as he twirled the green stem between his fingers before glancing out at the subjects of Selene shuffling into the room for the New Moon report.

“When we’re done,” he spoke softly, “See to it this is returned to the Prime Minister of Dawn.”

He didn’t need to look to know Phichit raised an eyebrow at the order.

“Why not keep it? It’s rare to see one of Theia's flowers outside of the Solar Garden.”

“It’s not mine to keep.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

*

The second time it happened, he didn’t know what to make of it.

Taking an evening stroll through the shared Eos Garden between the two kingdoms, Yuuri hadn’t expected to find yet another rose from the Solar Garden sitting in the back corner he liked to occupy when he needed to get his mind off things. It was easy to spot, the soft glow acting as a beacon in the dark to the stone bench it rested upon. Yuuri picked up it before gathering up his robes and taking a seat to examine the flower.

It initially looked yellow but on closer examination, it was clear to see the tips of the petals shifted to a soft pink color.

Had someone from Theia taken refuge in the quiet corner of the garden earlier and forgotten the flower?

Time passed and Yuuri eventually made his way back to Selene's Palace when the sky above had started to lighten. Phichit awaited him at the entrance, the ever present smile on his lips turning inquisitive when he noticed the item Yuuri brought back with him.

“Another misplaced rose,” Yuuri explained, handing the rose to the other man.

“I’ll return it immediately, Your Majesty.”

*

The seventh time it happened, he started to get annoyed.

“Is there some kind of ceremony that I was not informed of? Or are the inhabitants of the Theia just leaving roses around for my people to clean up?”

The Prime Minister hummed with a tilt of his head, watching Yuuri pick up the Solar Garden’s rose perched on the arm of the throne tonight. A light purple was the color chosen tonight.

“There are no rose-based ceremonies being held that I’m aware of...” Phichit murmured, he would have been the first to know through his meetings with the Theia’s Prime Minister of Dawn.

Yuuri sighed and pouted down at the rose, as if that would make them stop appearing. It was becoming a hassle having to return them at the end of every night. He and his servants had better things to do than make deliveries to Theia every morning.

“Ah!”

The sound of exclamation startled Yuuri out of his thoughts, he whipped his head to look up at his adviser and was again startled when Phichit’s face was right in front of his. With how bright his smile was and how his eyes were practically shining with excitement, you’d think he were a native of their sister kingdom Theia instead of Selene.

“Your Majesty! Could it be you have a secret admirer?” Phichit exclaimed.

Yuuri blinked at him, completely dumbfounded as the words sank in. An admirer? Someone admired him? King Yuuri of Selene. “The Enigma King,” as some referred. There was no way. No way at all. Someone found him admirable enough to leave roses for a week straight? It must have been a mistake. There was no way. No way at all...

But none the less, he felt a heat starting to spread across his cheeks and if Phichit’s growing smile meant anything, his blush was very obvious as his skin must have turned a deeper shade of blue. He quickly turned away and thrust the flower into Phichit’s chest.

“That’s ridiculous,” he stated. It was more to convince himself than his friend. “No one would consider me. Now take this back to the Solar Garden at once.”

It sounded harsher than he meant it to but Phichit didn’t seem to take it personally, leaving Yuuri alone to his thoughts.

*

The nights came and went and at the beginning of every evening, Yuuri was graced with the presence of a rose wherever he had chosen to occupy the night. He walked through the hallways of his palace with a sigh, the rose of the night in hand, white being the chosen color of the evening.

“It has to be someone from Theia who has access to the Solar Garden,” Phichit mused, walking alongside his king. “So that narrows down the options to the castle residents.”

Yuuri nodded absently, only half listening to Phichit ramble off names. Georgi was definitely courting one of the castle maids, Mila had just broken up with her boyfriend so the time line didn't overlap, and the Yuri who was the Prime Minister of Dawn would have an aneurysm at the very thought of leaving Selene's king flowers Phichit concluded with a laugh.

“So that leaves only one person,” Phichit chimed.

The unspoken words hung in the air between them as Yuuri continued to study the rose in hand with an impressive amount of interest of someone who doesn't want to address the supernova in the room.

“King Viktor...” Yuuri finally whispered, as if just the sound of his name would make the man appear.

Phichit clapped his hands in approval as he chimed a short “ta-dah” at both their detective skills.

Yuuri could feel the blush that always appeared at the very mention of the other king start to darken his face already. It was no secret he had always been impressed by Viktor and his ability to rule with such grace. He was adored by his subjects and everyone was so happy and cheerful in Theia on the occasions Yuuri stopped over for a visit. They had nothing but praise for their ruler and Yuuri could understand why; it was a beautiful kingdom with a beautiful king.

“There's no way,” Yuuri unintentionally spoke aloud, it came out more a mutter than anything.

“He's the only one left of the list,” Phichit sighed, throwing an arm around Yuuri's shoulders and guiding him to continue walking down the hall. “Unless you want to include the Solar Garden's attendant but he's sooooo old, I don't want to think about it.”

Yuuri took comfort in the physical contact; it gave him an anchor and he needed his friend Phichit in this instance rather than the Prime Minister of Dusk. He gave a small laugh at the inclusion of the gardener; there were stories about how Yakov prided his work in the Solar Garden more than anything.

“How could it be Vikor? I've only been in the same room as him during the Eclipse Galas and I can barely even say the appropriate courtesies to him before I lose confidence and busy myself elsewhere for the rest of the event. That's hardly enough to catch his attention much less affections.”

It's what had earned Yuuri the insensitive nicknames from the Sun Kingdom's residents who were used to Viktor's charms. “The Enigma King” was the current name Yuuri heard whispered around after the last Solar Eclipse Gala. Yuuri had lost his nerve after only a few hours and had slipped out without a word to anyone to retreat back to the comfort of Selene's quiet palace.

He barely remembered the Lunar Eclipse Gala Selene had hosted in the few weeks after the Solar Eclipse. It was his first time hosting the event himself but something had happened to make his memory hazy...

“Hey,” Phichit's voice interjected his thoughts, a finger poking his cheek to get his attention, “I think everyone in Selene knows about your little infatuation with him by now. Besides, the king would be so lucky as to court you.”

“But...”

“No buts!”

The finger being wagged at his nose along with Phichit's pout and the furrowed eyebrows as he tried to scold his king was enough to bring a small smile to Yuuri's lips. Their walk had led them to the entrance hall of the palace.

“Thanks, Phichit,” Yuuri gave him a more sincere smile as he ducked out of the man's hold and handed him the rose.

“Back to the Solar Garden even after our talk?” Phichit asked with an amused grin, “You can be pretty cruel, Yuuri.”

Selene's king turned away and walked towards the duel staircases that lead to the upper levels of the castle, his cloak of stars moved as if an entire galaxy was trapped inside and could spill out at any moment.

“You know as well as I do that it won't last a full night here,” Yuuri paused with a hand on the banister, glancing over a shoulder at his Prime Minister as he struggled to find the right words. “Tell them I... appreciate the gesture.”

He quickly turned away and headed up the stairs before his blush was noticed though Phichit seemed too happy with his comment to say anything. Yuuri heard the younger man leave and he made his way for his room. Was he shaking from nerves or excitement? Maybe both.

*

A full cycle of the moon had passed. Twenty-nine night had come and gone. And Yuuri was convinced he'd never stop blushing.

Once again, as for the past twenty-nine days, Yuuri was going about his business without concern. And once again, without fail for the past twenty-nine days, he was greeted with a rose from the Solar Gardens.

Except this time, it wasn't just one rose.

“Twenty-nine red roses from the Solar Garden!” Phichit exclaimed as he finished his self-appointed task of counting all the red roses that adorned the throne.

Twenty-nine for every night Yuuri was given a rose and had it returned the following morning. He buried his face in his hands and groaned in embarrassment. He could sit through the New Moon report with one rose, he had started keeping the gifts through the night and had attended prior meetings with them until it was time to send the flowers back. But twenty-nine roses. It was an full bouquet. It was too obvious.

Phichit gathered up the flowers, the soft glow coming from each petal looked like a firefly in the night.

“I take it we'll be sending these back immediately, Your Majesty?” His adviser asked, not even bothering to mask the amused tone of his voice. He turned to start his now very familiar trek to the other kingdom when Yuuri found himself reaching out to grab Phichit's arm to stop him.

“Wait...” Yuuri heard his voice say softly.

He was moving on his own, reaching into the cloak of stars he wore, fingertips brushing against the stars and galaxies interwoven into the enchanted fabric as he searched. Finally he gripped a small cluster of twinkling stars with a brush of a galaxy edge and pulled them from the fabric. With a small flick of the wrist, he molded them into the shape of a ribbon and gently tied it around the gathering of roses to make a proper bouquet.

Ignoring Phichit's inquisitive look, he leaned in to gently blow across the roses, a fine layer of stardust covering each glowing petal to make them shimmer instead of glow.

He couldn't bring himself to look at his friend, he was already blushing beyond control and he could feel himself getting dizzy from the rush of emotions going through him. Was he anxious? Happy? Scared? Maybe all of it balled up at once and left to sit at the bottom of his stomach.

“I want these directly delivered to King Viktor of Theia,” Yuuri once again heard himself speaking, his voice was wavering but his words were clear. “Tell him I thank him for the gifts but remind him the foliage of the Solar Garden cannot last longer than twelve hours in Selene.”

And before he could take back those words, Phichit was sprinting out the door with that too bright smile spreading across his face.

Yuuri sunk into the throne, dropping his face into his hands and trying to take a deep breath to calm down. He was okay. This was going to be fine. He had sent back the flowers every night so far and he was just giving a proper response back this time. It was fine. It was fine.

But his heart was racing and his face was burning. His hands were fidgeting and his foot was bouncing. He couldn't take a deep enough breath and his mind kept wandering to the other kingdom. To the luminescent king who ruled it and what he would think receiving the roses back this time.

The report was short but it felt like it lasted an eternity. Yuuri quickly hurried back to his palace as soon as everything was finished but when he saw the Minister of Dawn standing at the entrance, he felt  his limbs turn to lead.

The blonde turned to him with his characteristic arched eyebrow and frown that made it seem like he was being inconvenienced at all times.

“Yurio, I wasn't expecting you-” Yuuri began with a weak smile, using the common nickname the younger boy had unwillingly acquired from too many confusing interactions. He was quickly cut off by the prime minister when a small envelop was shoved into his hands.

“Of course you weren't expecting me,” Yurio growled out, “That idiot king sent me unannounced after receiving that sorry excuse of a bouquet from an equally idiotic king.” He jutted a finger at the parcel. “I was told to deliver that directly to your hands. Now that you have it and I'm leaving.”

The younger boy departed in a flourish and with some words about how being a personal delivery boy was not in the job description.

Yuuri didn't dare look at the envelop until he was safely in his room, back safely pushed against the door and sinking down to sit on the floor. His crown of constellations provided enough light to read though it wouldn't have mattered seeing as the word on the envelop itself shimmering like liquid gold. His name was the only thing written and yet Yuuri couldn't tear his eyes away. He'd seen the elegant, looping script so many times before on formal documents but never had he imagined to see his name in the font. Never had her ever expected a personal letter.

It took a few minutes before he found the courage to open the envelop and pull out the small, neat paper. It took even longer for the words on the paper to register. He read it, re-read it, and read it again. And again. And again...

He was blushing. He was shaking. He was giddy with excitement. He was going to be sick. He was a mess.

But above all, he was going to see Viktor.

“Let's meet in the garden.

King Viktor of Theia”

chapter 2

#day and night au #yuri on ice #yoi fanfic #victuuri #yuri katsuki #victor nikiforov #i use viktor with a k #because he's russian #and i think it's cuter

[shrubbyscribe]

A Slenderman "what if" fic

I seriously just pulled this out of thin air after reading catnippacket's what if theory of Slenderman.

I just... I don't know how this came to be and I'm really sorry I at least tried to still make him creepy!

~*~

The past was a hazy memory for him. Nameless faces, words never meant for him, smiles directed at others, touches he longed to feel himself…  He couldn't remember much. 

Did he have a name? He must have at some point. If he really thought about it, he could taste it on the tip of his tongue… Which was a figure of speech, of course. He didn't have a face so how could he have a tongue? It had been stolen from him back when… he had become what he was. 

What was he exactly? Well… he wasn't quite sure himself. He could hear a few broken words on silent nights.

“Unwanted… cu--se… Bani--ment…”

Echoes of a past memory always shrouded in a static fog in his mind. It never really made much sense but then again, he never tried to remember. The static sound would get louder, white noise ringing in his head until he’d lose control of himself and snap to only to realize he was in a different location. He didn't want to remember…

A snapping of a branch drew his attention to the trees around him. He could feel the faint footsteps of another being. A visitor to the woods that were as much a part of him as they were a home. The vibrations and unsteady shuffling were like a hook in his chest, immediately drawing him in. 

It didn't take long for him to find the source; no one could hide from him once they entered the woods. He observed from a distance, lurking behind the trunks to remain unseen.

A small woman was making her way through the gaps between trees, leaves crunching under her feet and flashlight shaking in her hand as she trembled from the autumn night air. She didn't have much for warmth, a light jacket and a pair of jeans hardly counted for much, though he could no longer feel the cold night air like living creatures did.

She was muttering to herself, causing him to creep closer to listen in. The visitors to his forest always had such interesting things to say and he enjoyed learning about them. He held out hope that some day he’d be able to approach one of them, learn their story, tell them his. The idea of finally forming a connection with any living being was fascinating while also being quite terrifying.

“Stupid rumor… Of course there’s no one here. Just a stupid old forest filled with deer and coyotes. Probably wasting my time hoping for a good article on this…”

Her voice held a professional tone. Was she… what was the word? A person who would write for… a company. They would… tell stories… He couldn't recall the term, it’d been so long since… what was it…?

Perhaps he had once been human. It would explain how he was drawn to them, knew their language, and had a similar body build to them. However…

He snapped a twig with his foot and the woman stopped in her tracks immediately. She was obviously getting nervous; his presence often did that to his visitors even when they were unaware of him following.

She drew a small paper out of her pocket, holding it to the light.

“’Don’t look… or it takes you…’ Ha! Yeah, right. I bet this is a biiiig joke. Mitch set me up and here I am falling for it hook, line, and sinker…” She started shining the light on the trees around her, the shadows behind them becoming darker as she called out, “You can stop hiding now, you got me!”

He stayed back, but her words were tempting. Maybe she was going to be the one he finally made a connection with? He could offer her his coat to warm her, they could go find a place to speak, she would accept him, she could tell him about her human life, he could… well… he didn't know if he could speak without a mouth but they could cross that bridge when they came to it.

The beam of her flashlight caught the leg of his pants and she let out a yelp before he quickly hid behind one of the trees again.

“I saw you! Come out!”

He didn't want to. What if she didn't like him? The way he looked? The way he acted? She could scream, she could run away, or what if she tried to hurt him? It wouldn't have been the first time he’d started a visitor into attacking him.

He slipped through the shadows of the trees easily, the rustling of the leaves raising panic in the young woman.

“Th-this isn't funny anymore!” He couldn't tell if she stuttered from the cold or from growing anxiety. “C-come on! Just… come out already and let‘s go home.”

Home? But he was home. Did she want him to leave? Her nervousness was starting to cause a weight to set in on his chest. His fingers were itching to grasp something, his body was being drawn to her against his better judgment.

She started to walk away from his direction and he followed without hesitation, creeping closer without realizing it. Humans seemed to show their true nature when faced with fear and a craving set in to see what she would do.

This was proof he was no longer of her kind. Once the fear set in, there was nothing keeping him away from them. He could drag out the ugliest parts of his guests simply showing himself to them.

And when the woman looked over her shoulder and the flashlight landed upon his faceless visage, he felt the haze setting in over his thoughts. It muffled her scream with its white noise, he didn't feel himself speeding up as she bolted blindly into the woods.

Her panic was a beacon to him as much as her pounding footsteps were. He easily followed silently, the woods granting him complete camouflage and giving him the upper hand.

He only wanted to talk. But she was making it so difficult. They always ran, never wanting to stop and learn about him. He wasn't such a bad guy.

The woman tripped, the flashlight flying out of her hands and rolling to a stop a few feet away. It was his chance. He could return it to her, she would learn he meant her no harm, and--

He couldn't remember anything. 

She had turned to look at him, there was obvious fear and horror on her face when she gazed at his blank white one. And then… static. A white light. A high pitch ringing.

He patted the mound of fresh dirt and adjusted the rock he had placed at one end. A similar set-up to the left, repeated countless times. 

Though he wasn't sure why he did it, he felt it was right. He wanted his friends to be gathered in one spot to keep each other company when he wasn't around, they couldn't be lonely that way. 

Some parts had been dug up by woodland animals but overall, it was an orderly scene. He liked his friends like this, all of them together, no one needing to say anything and just enjoying each other's company like friends were supposed to…

A voice broke through the silence of the woods. A male calling out a name. The thudding of feet running already sent a tremble through him.

Maybe this time he’d have better luck.

#slenderman #a theory fic #not cannon #please do not yell at me for making him not a tentacle rapist #or a mindless killing machine #or for letting him have feelings

[shrubbyscribe]

Gaslight

What better way to trudge through a not so hot night than to write a drabble?

When voices in your head are set on driving you to the edge, it helps to have someone there to pull you back in time.

I had Emilie Autumn's song in mind as I wrote so it gets the honor of being the title name.  

As always, unbeta'd so feel free to point out grammatical mistakes.

~*~

The voices were growing louder with each passing minute. 

It had started off as whispers. It always started out that way. Small voices in the back of his head, fragments of sentences, stray words...

He could ignore it most of the time, the voices were always there. Always speaking, always reminding him of what he'd done. What he'd become. What he'd never be.

Disappointment. Worthless child... --richo, take it-- medication will hel-- Hey, kiddo, watch the store front for a few minutes. --had to restrain him-- useless... --hurry! There's blood everyw-- your fault... --a disgrace to your father-- You don't --eye couldn't be saved-- need them... --and this "demon" has chosen you for a host...--monitor his condition-- care for yourself... --clearly unstable-- All you-- cover your face while the relatives are over-- have left-- I'm sorry-- is --permanent damage to the nerves-- yourself... --I love ya, kid.

He didn't realize he was shaking until he felt the weight of a hand on his shoulder, jerking him out of his thoughts and momentarily silencing the voices. Spook reflexively pulled away from the touch, eye wide and frantic as he turned to locate the owner of the hand and possibly knock a few of their teeth out with a well-aimed punch for so casually touching him. 

It was Rocky who was sitting behind him. Worry etched in his eyebrows and his hand still lingering in the air after being shook off. His hair was moused from the sleep he had been woken from

Oh. Right. He was in Rocky's room. He had gone over to avoid a potential confrontation with his mother. The same one currently screaming in horror at the sight of her blood-covered son.

"Dude, you gonna be okay? You're rocking the bed with all your shaking."

He was trying to give him a reassuring smile, to make light of the situation despite the obvious mental distress his best friend was in. And it was enough for Spook to latch onto; an actual voice from someone physically sitting beside him, not just echos of the past or whispers from a demon.

He managed a weak grin in return, running a gloved hand through his disheveled hair and tilting his head toward the rockstar.

"Would you preffer to rock it another way?"

That earned him a tired chuckle, a welcome sound over the turmoil starting to recede from the forefront on his mind.

"Don't have to ask me twice if you're down with it."

He felt the mattress shift as Rocky crawled over to him, knees finding a place on either side of Spook's legs and hands threading through the younger teen's hair while they gazed momentarily at each other in a silent exchange.

There was a smile on Rocky's lips but he was searching Spook, trying to figure out the cause of Spook's reaction without asking aloud and possibly angering his friend. The young anarchist was quick to bring that to a halt, gloved hands sliding up Rocky's thighs before they took hold of his hips, roughly moving them against his own as he pressed their lips together.

He was in no mood to give answers to the questions he could practically taste in the other teen's mouth, making it known when he bit down on Rocky's lip hard enough to draw blood. A rough tug on his hair and rocking of hips against his own were the only signs he needed to prove that the message was received clearly.

And with the solid weight of Rocky pressed fully against him along with the sounds of his pleasure filling up Spook's ears, he knew he'd survive for at least one more night.

#spookstar #2spookyteen #teenrocky #schoolofrocky #thneedville high #hall pa$$ #I hope I didn't overtag #:|

[shrubbyscribe]

Of Guppies and Sharks (a mermaid AU Swoncest fic)

I saw this picture by catnippackets and then my hand slipped. For 1,213 words...

Oh god, writing Swag and One is so amusing despite it being my first time so please take their personalities with a grain of salt if they're a little ooc. This is also unbeta'd so feel free to let me know of any grammatical mistakes.

~*~

“Ooooone!”

The voice jostled the merman out of his thoughts and he turned toward the source, unsurprised to see Swag heading his way. Not many dared to interact with him due to his “intimidating appearance” or something, it wasn't as if it was rare to have the genetics of a shark or anything. Nor the appetite of one… Speaking of which, the fish he had been chewing on seemed to be nothing but bones and a head now. A shame, really, he had been enjoying the taste and he couldn't remember exactly where he’d managed to pick the particular type and with only a head left, there wasn't much to work with should he go hunting again…

“Helloooo! Coral reef to bloodmouth! Don’t tell me you beached your brain while you were swimming around on your own. I just finished preening my fins the other day and I am not about to ruin them crawling up onto land to get all shriveled and torn just to retrieve it for you. I’ll have you know if I’m going to be caught by a human, you can bet I’m going to be looking my best because I shore as shell ain't gonna be sold for mere pebbles!”

“Did you actually need me for something?” One inquired before lowering his voice to a mumble, “You’re doing that fish pun thing again…”

Swag was swimming circles around One as he talked, obviously caught up in his little monologue. Which was fine with the larger merman, he had only started listening halfway through but judging from what he had heard, Swag wasn't really saying anything of importance.

At the prompted question, Swag stopped his circling and immediately darted over to One, his fanned tail catching a few rays of the sun and making it appear the shimmer in the light. Well, if One was honest, everything on the smaller merman shimmered in the light; his genetics were at the top of the list when it came to their society. Swag had the fin shape most guppies dreamed of, not to mention the coloring of both his fins and tail were highly sought after since they blended with his elaborate coral home perfectly, his build was effeminate but that was only natural for guppies, and his hair…

His hair… well… Now that he was thinking about it… It looked…

“This is the worst possible thing to happen to me! I was in the reef, minding my own business, when this squid just barreled right into my head like it was a lighted beacon or something! As if I could be mistaken for one of those hideous anglerfish, I mean, have you seen my fins? And while I know all the ladies want a piece of my fine tail, this one obviously didn't want to wait in line. Didn't even try to engage in any proper ritual so double fucking rude! And to top it all off, I got some sort of disgusting STD because if it! I can’t even run my hands though my hair without it getting tangled, oh god, do you think it’s deadly? I didn't think of that! I can’t die this young! I still have so much to live for!”

Swag was gripping his shoulders at this point, physically shaking One in his panicked state. From what he could tell, it was a mess of fishing wire, algae, and hair all knotted together; probably made worse by Swag trying to get it out himself. 

“Calm down, lemme get a look at this,” One sighed as he ducked out of Swag’s hold, curving around the smaller merman to view the damage from behind and experimentally ran a hand through the mess. It did tangle but there was some give indicating that it could probably be worked out with some patience. 

“Don’t go getting homo on me, too. I already hit my sexual assault limit for the day.”

One rolled his eyes as he took hold of Swag’s shoulders, guiding him down toward a rock big enough to rest on. “I’ll get it out, though it’s gonna take a while,” he explained, examining the bones of his previous meal, it would work for a make-shift comb.

“As long as I don’t look like a hermit crab’s shell anymore, I can deal with you running your hands through my hair. Just try not to get any fish blood in it.”

The process was slow, gray hands running though Swag’s black hair to find each of the knots before he would start using the bones to work out the majority of the tangled wires. The smaller knots were carefully untangled with the white tips of his fingers, the bones of the fish being too far set to be of much use. During the time, Swag chattered nonstop about this and that. One mostly tuned him out, an occasional grunt or one word answer sufficing for his end of the conversation.

He pulled the last of the filth out of Swag’s hair, running his fingers and the comb through again to make sure he didn't miss anything. 

“I hope you’re making me look pretty,” Swag commented with closed eyes and a smile, his head had gradually tipped back during the process. He was obviously enjoying the detailed attention to his hair.

“Oh yeah,” One couldn't help responding, “You’re gonna look beautiful. The best looking guppy in the ocean.”

“Psh! I already am the best looking. You really can’t improve perfection but I’ll give you points for trying.”

One finally pulled his hands away, discarding the now useless fish bones as he circled around Swag, looking over his handiwork. He honestly wouldn't have put much effort into it had it not been Swag to ask. The kid was annoying at times but he was still one of the very few merfolk to willingly interact without judging him so One figured he could return some of that in his own way. 

He paused his circling when he felt Swag’s hand around his wrist, tugging him over. One glanced down where they were connected, the blue appearing even more vibrant against the gray of his own flesh before his sight was filled with the black of Swag’s hair and the feeling of arms wrapping around his torso. 

“Since I can’t really think of any other way to thank you, you get one gay hug as payment.”

The older merman chuckled at that, loosely wrapping an arm around Swag’s shoulders and ruffling his hair with his freed hand. It earned him a small squeeze before Swag pulled away with a huff, smoothing down his hair.

“Alright, I‘m cutting you off. I already have enough of your homo pheromones on me, attracting a hot babe is gonna be at least four times more difficult now even with my good looks.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage somehow.”

“Please. Who could ever resist me and my charm?”

Swag was quick to fill up the momentary silence between them with his rambling again, most likely stroking his own ego, but as One tuned him out he let the question bounce around in his head. A small grin appeared on his face as he watched the other gesture dramatically, basically talking to hear himself at this point.

“Who indeed…”

#swoncest #One #Swag #mermaid AU #catnippackets art #what do i tag this as? #swunday

[shrubbyscribe]

Bloody Gears

My original intent for this was Steamcest. And then my brain went "Nope! Crudler's my main bro!" And then this turned into Creamcest.

Anyway, I decided to take advantage of magic!anon turning Steamler into a vampire because my weakness is, in fact, writing vampire fics. It also had an entirely different ending planned out but I really liked how the mini arc ended so I stuck with it. :>

So here it is, my rendition of how things went down between Steam and Crud during Halloween. Also, apologies in advance, this is unbeta'd so there may or may not be grammatical mistakes and OOC-ness.

~*~

That too sharp black nail was dragging down Crudler's throat, his head tilted to the side to expose it further from behind the trench coat’s collar. Steam noticed the momentary flinch cross his face at the initial break of the skin before his usual smirk returned to his lips.

“You're hungry, right?” he had asked, leaning back against the cushion of the couch, “Bite me!”

When the blood began to bead up along the cut, that had been where Steamler's thought process came to a screeching halt. His new-found senses were focused entirely on the human sitting beside him; the coppery scent of the blood assaulting his nose, the slight pulse under the cut only noticeable due to his blood-lust enhancing his vision and making him hone in on the spot he could get the most blood with the least amount of effort.

“I…” Steamler started, and his throat grew ever more parched as he instantly regretted his decision to swipe his tongue over his lips. In such close proximity, he could practically taste the blood in the air and barely managed to stifle the whine attempting to escape his throat.

He turned away, closing his eyes and curling in on himself again as he resisted the strange tingling sensation around his canines, tensing his jaw as he felt compelled to bite into something.

“I don't want to hurt you,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around his knees and pulling them to his chest before hiding away his face. “Please don't encourage me, Crud…”

He tensed at the pressure of a hand on his back before relaxing under the soothing circles being rubbed into it with a small sigh. Steamler chanced a glance over his arm after a few minutes, forcing himself to look at the reassuring smile on Crud’s lips instead of the couple of droplets of blood slowly beginning to merge into one as each slid down to the one below it…

Steamler closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh and shiver, not focusing on the blood.

He noticed Crud moving during his internal struggle and a small tap on the shoulder to get his attention. He made a small inquiring hum as he gathered the nerve to lift his head. The blood was gone from Crud’s neck but the scent was stronger than before.

That's when he noticed the hand hovering close to his face and the blood smeared across one of Crud’s fingertips. Steamler's eyes widened and he instantly leaned away with a small whine, raising his own hand to his mouth to cover it even though he couldn't bring himself to look away.

“C'mon, Steam, you need it,” he heard Crud say through the haze beginning to creep over his thoughts.

Steam flinched when he felt Crud's larger hand wrap around his wrist, carefully pulling away his hand and raising the red smeared finger to hover in front of the vampire's lips. Steam whined again as the smell invaded his nose but found himself unable to pull back, looking up at Crud with a pleading expression as his eyebrows knit in frustration and worry.

Crudler's response was a stern look in return and daring to place his fingertip directly on Steam's lips, causing the vampire to shudder obviously and part his lips against his better judgment. As he fought against his instincts to bite down on the digit, his body seemed to work of its own accord; his tongue darting out to taste the blood and his free hand pausing mid-air as it reached toward Crudler's wrist, whether to pull it away or hold it in place, he wasn't quite sure.

What he was sure of was his need for more blood than the small taste he just received  He tentatively opened his mouth further and closed his eyes, allowing the finger to dip inside his mouth and slide over his tongue. Steam was certain he was blushing more than he ever had in his entire life and if he wasn't so focused on how delicious the little blood being offered was, he was certain he would have run off to hide in his workshop from embarrassment.

But as it was, he remained planted on the couch, tongue swiping over the finger even after the minimal amount of blood had been cleared away. His hand finally made contact with Crud's forearm and held on to it gently, faintly feeling the pulse going through his wrist and his senses easily pinpointing the spots where he could bite to gain access to even more of the crimson liquid his body was craving.

His instincts were taking control now that he'd had a taste and judging by Crudler's good eye widening when the vampire finally gained the nerve to look up at him, the blood-lust was intent in his gaze. Perhaps Steam's eyes were glowing a deeper red, maybe the feral part of his new-found vampiric genes were finally clicking in Crud's head as something dangerous, or… there was the possibility Crudler was actually getting aroused by the whole situation based on the leer Steam was receiving.

Relinquishing the finger, his lips gradually moved across Crud's palm to his still captive wrist. He could feel the blood pulsing against his lips as they lingered against the skin, accompanied by a shiver along Crudler's arm. It seemed the man wasn't as impenetrable as he thought.

Steamler gave the pulse a small lick with the tip of his tongue, an experimental action to see how Crudler would react. If he really was going to drink his blood, as much as he was against the idea, he wanted to be sure Crudler was completely comfortable with the idea. It was one thing to say he was and another entirely when the situation manifested itself.

But Crudler didn't pull away. His expression didn't change. The only sign he had felt Steam’s tongue on his skin was the small jump in his pulse.

Yes, that those were all good signs. If Crudler had been nervous about the situation, Steam was certain he wouldn't be able to relax and trust himself enough to go through with this. But he was thirsty and with Crud being a willing victim he would…

Wait… no… that wasn't right. Steam pulled his head away from Crud's wrist despite the protest from his vampiric side, his mind was being torn two ways.

Crud wasn't… He didn't want to… But his throat was parched… He couldn't go on another minute without… He couldn't… Blood… He needed blood… Crudler said he could… No… If he didn't get any soon he would… He would… No… No…

“No.”

The word hung in the air between them as he released Crud’s wrist and turned away. It had been so quiet, he would have thought he hadn't said anything at all if not for the shocked look he got from Crud.

His whole body was trembling. He was fighting to keep control of himself. He… he needed to leave before he did something he'd regret.

“I'm sorry.”

Steam forced himself to stand, refusing to look at the other lest he give in to temptation again, he swayed dangerously on his feet as his conscious fought against the unnatural vampiric one. If he could make it out of the room… maybe get to his workshop. It was dark there. He could lock himself in there. He could wait this out. He didn't have to hurt anyone.

He could…

He… could…

Steam didn't realize he was falling forward until he felt his body jolt; Crudler's arms were around him, had stopped him from ending up face-first on the floor. He stared blankly down at the wood panels, still processing everything during his internal struggle, when he felt Crud's head rest against his own and an aggravated sigh blown against his hair.

“You can be such an idiot sometimes…”

The voice was muffled among Steam's thoughts and he barely registered the fingers resting against his chin to turn his head until his unnatural red eyes made contact with mismatched green and blue. Steam wasn't sure what Crud was thinking as they gazed at each other. There was frustration in the downturn of his lips and annoyance in the way his brows were knit together.

But there was worry in his eyes -or at least the good one- and care in the way he held onto Steam, not against his will but making sure he couldn't pull or turn away without some effort.

Steam was still trembling, his mind was not entirely his own at the moment. He really needed to get away from Crudler before he did something he’d regret.

But he still leaned into Crud's touch when he slid the back of his fingers along the vampire's jaw line. He allowed their foreheads to rest against one another, their noses to lightly bump, his hands to grip to front of Crudler's coat when the free hand rested on the small of his back. He closed his eyes when Crud's breath ghosted over his mouth, the hand sliding from Steam's jaw to thread through his hair.

He didn't fight it when their lips connected.

It wasn't exactly their first kiss, Steamler could clearly recall the first time Crud had stolen a kiss from him. It had been forceful, leaving Steam confused and upset about the whole matter. There were too many mixed signals at the time and Steam had already been distraught due to Greedlerbot's crash through Crud's roof.

But this… this was different than before. This time, it was just the two of them with nothing other than Steamler's better judgment working against them. Though it was difficult to remember even that when Crud pulled him closer to his body, moved his lips against Steam’s in a way that gave him no other choice but to respond in kind, both of them mindful of the other’s razor teeth.

From such close proximity, Steam could hear the small gears in Crud’s mechanical eye moving against one another. Breathing in through his nose, the scent of oil and something which was specifically Crudler's sent shivers through him and down his spine. His hands began to move as he made a soft sound halfway between a moan and a whine against Crud’s lips, one arm wrapped around Crud’s torso to return the embrace as the other traveled farther up over his chest.

Eventually Steam's fingers found the collar of the trench coat and slipped under as Crudler carefully nibbled at his lower lip, eliciting another whine from the shorter man. As Steam stroked along the flesh of Crud’s neck, he only seemed further encouraged to test his limits with the vampire.

Without warning, he had swiped his tongue over one of his many razor blades he called teeth and the scent of the blood hit Steamler first before the tongue was thrust inside his mouth, moving against his own.

That alone rewarded him an actual moan, the vampire's grips on him tightening with a full body shudder against his as he sucked on the tongue, attempting to get as much blood from the cut as possible. It wasn't nearly as deep as he needed for more than just the small trickle of liquid he was allotted. None the less, he willingly followed after Crud's mouth as the other began to take the few steps backwards toward the couch again.

Once the back of his knees hit the couch cushions, Crudler finally broke the kiss, extracting his tongue from Steam's mouth so they could both get oxygen to their hormone-driven brains. As they stood there regarding one another and huffing softy against the other's mouth, Crud was the first to break into his usual smirk and shift his weight and stance to plop down on the couch, guiding the vampire down with him.

Steam blushed at his new position, straddling Crud's lap with those larger hands sliding along his sides, hips, and thighs reverently. If he was in better control of himself at the time, Steam was certain he'd probably be embarrassed beyond words and trying to run off again. But at that moment, with his own hands moving Crud's collar out of the way and sensing the blood under his skin moving even faster with Crud’s quicker heartbeat, all he could focus on was finally sating himself.

He inclined his head until his lips were centimeters from Crud's, their breath mingling as they awaited the other's action. Steam's fingers rested lightly over Crud's pulse, taking note of how it was quickening and skipping a beat every few minutes as he obviously grew more impatient with Steam's teasing. He was the first to give in as he tipped his head up until their mouths finally met.

The kiss was chaste, their mouths moving against each other languidly and their hands roaming. Steam could feel his tension melting away and confidence building with each caress along his body or gentle bite to his lips from Crud. While their current position was not what Steam had been expecting, he couldn't deny how advantageous it was for him. It allowed him to be in control of the situation, to move as he liked, he could pull away if he became overwhelmed once again…

A groan from Crud as Steam shifted to trail soft kisses along his jaw assured the vampire he would not be as hesitant this time. Not when Crudler tilted his head so invitingly and slid those nails down Steam’s back in just the right way to make him shiver and arch toward the taller man.

Once he reached Crud’s neck, lips passing along the obvious pulse, Steam felt fingers threading through his hair; a silent assertion that he was not escaping this time. As he slipped a hand to Crud's shirt to unhook the first couple of buttons, the vampire couldn't stop the small smile at how determined the human was to assure Steam's well-being it was a trait he really only ever saw in Greedlerbot most of the time.

“C'mon,” Crud's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, along with a gentle bite to Steam’s slightly pointed ear to further grab his attention. “Stop stalling and get it over with.”

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He saw Crud’s mouth start to form an argument right after he spoke the words but he cut him off, pushing the loosened fabric of his shirt away to reveal most of the taller man’s shoulder. “At least… more than necessary.”

While his instincts had told him to go for the jugular to get the most blood, there was no way Steam would be able to stop the blood flow if he bit too deep or drank too much. He could trust his self control when he wasn't biting into a main artery and Crud’s shoulder would still do a well enough job to supply Steam with what he needed.

With one more glance up at Crud as permission and warning, Steam inclined his head toward the bared shoulder and slowly opened his mouth. It felt strange, each tooth ached almost painfully and his canines shifted oddly, most likely elongating to bury themselves deepest into the skin in order to reach the arteries hidden farther under the flesh.

He was impressed with how relaxed Crud was in his hold even though he could feel his racing heartbeat as his fangs broke through the top layer of skin.

Steamler practically purred at the small droplets of blood that sprang up from where his fangs had just grazed over the skin and felt Crud shiver when he swiped a tongue over them, readying himself to bite down fully and finally quench his thirst.

Though it came of no surprise when he bit down and a familiar tingling sensation ran through his entire body, ending with a set of not so sharp teeth biting down on Crud’s shoulder, a small hiss of pain coming from the other, and his thirst completely dissipating.

Steam blinked a few times, teeth still digging into Crud's skin as his brain caught up with what had happened before realization dawn on him and he quickly released the shoulder and jerked back with a panicked look. Ignoring the coppery taste of blood, no longer so delightful, in his mouth, he checked over Crud's shoulder carefully.

There was an obvious ring of teeth marks, some parts bleeding where Steamler's sharpened fangs had broken skin before they had returned to normal, and the majority of the area was definitely bruised from the pressure of the bite. Steam could feel his face lighting up with a blush as he fumbled out apologies, fretting over the injury.

Crudler cut him off with a chuckle, tousling the panicking male's hair in an obvious show he was fine. Though Steam noticed the small wince when he moved his arm up to do so and couldn't help but lower his head in regret. Of course, that action only served to remind him of their positions; where he was still straddling Crud’s lap like it was the most comfortable seat in the house and Greedlerbot wasn't about to come back from trick-or-treating with Ted and Norma at any given moment.

He quickly scrambled off the taller man with another apology, blushing even more if possible and rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he looked off to the side.

“I-I… um… I'm really sorry about your shoulder. There's a medical kit in the workshop…” He chanced looking at the other man, not entirely surprised to see him smiling. “Let me at least bandage you up? It’s the least I can do for you…”

Crud stood with another laugh, giving the now obviously bruising area a poke. “I've definitely had a lot worse done to me, you can trust me on that. But if it'll make you feel better…”

With a nod from the younger male, the two migrated to the workshop, Steam efficiently patching up the injury and Crud sitting obediently, only making a total of four comments relating the bite to a “damn impressive hickey.” Steamler was certain he was only trying to make light of the situation but still fumbled with his work the first few times out of humiliation before finally being able to laugh along with Crud.

Once Steam was satisfied with his work, he allowed the taller male to stand, fixing his clothes to rest properly on his shoulder again and doing up the buttons before realizing his actions; something that had become almost second-nature to him from his time spent helping Greedlerbot dress after maintenance work on him. He paused on the last button, his hands mostly resting on Crudler's chest as he felt the other's gaze on him.

“Thank you… for what you did tonight,” he spoke to the button, not daring to make eye-contact with the owner of the shirt just yet. “W-well, I mean… what you offered to do tonight. Wait no… that sounded weird! Um… I guess what I-I mean to say is… um… Thank you for being with me… tonight? No wait, that still sounds weird, doesn't it?”

Crudler's hands grasped his, pulling them away from his shirt and drawing Steam's attention to his face as he gave him, what Steam assumed to be, his most charming smile because Steam felt his heart skip a beat and face flush all over again. Even more so when lips brushed over his knuckles.

“If you ever need me, I’ll be here for you.”

Steam couldn't help a small laugh at the cliché line, seeing the humor in Crud’s smirk as well even if those words were true. And though Halloween certainly hadn't turned out the way he expected, it appeared he was still able to enjoy it after all.

#steamler #crudler #oncest #creamcest #bloodplay if you squint?

[shrubbyscribe]

Writing by candlelight is one of the most relaxing activities I've ever discovered.

#writing #blah blah

[shrubbyscribe]

Gunpowder Treason and Plot

Thought I'd offer up one of my old fics I cleaned up in honor of the fifth of November. This is from an era when I used to RP regularly with a Minamimoto and Hanekoma so please forgive me for the probably blatant OOC-ness of Neku, I didn't know anyone who RP'd him. It was written post-game so he's not as much of an ass and with Sho having miraculously survived somehow because I needed an antagonist.

Also this is unbeta'd so I apologize for any mistakes.

~*~

Neku hadn't meant to stay out as late as he did. Beat had insisted on a few more rounds of the new fighting game he had just bought and Neku wasn't one to turn him down. He checked his phone -dammit, it's already after eleven!- and kept up the quick pace home, praying his mother was already in bed so that he could slip in unnoticed.

Quickly turning into a backstreet as a shortcut for his house, Neku found himself hitting a rather solid mass, causing him to take a few steps back to regain his balance. As he rubbed his face, which had taken the majority of the hit, and cursed his luck, it seemed the mass he had hit was doing the same.

"Factoring hectopascal! Watch where you're goin'!"

Wait… did he just hear that right? Allowing his eyes to adjust to the shadows of the alley, Neku felt the pit of his stomach drop as his eyes confirmed what he didn't want to be true. Standing not two feet away was the math-crazed Game Master, Sho Minamimoto.

What he was doing in the RG, Neku didn't know nor was he going to stick around to find out. He ducked his head, hoping to avoid being noticed by the Game Master, and mumbled out a "sorry" as he tried to walk around the Reaper and get out of the alley as soon as possible.

However, Minamimoto apparently had other plans.

A hand latched at the front of his shirt, halting Neku in his tracks and pulling him up to dangle a few inches off the ground in front of the now smirking Minamimoto. "Hold it right there, Radian, you're the Composer's pet variable, aren't ya?"

Neku gulped and gripped Sho's wrist with both hands, attempting to free himself from Sho's grasp as the older teen leaned closer, a vicious glint in his golden eyes and those sharp canine teeth glinting in what light the alley allowed.

Shit… The grip seemed to only tighten on his clothing the more he struggled and the outlook of getting out of the backstreet unscathed was looking more grim by the moment.

"Look, I'm in a hurry," Neku attempted to convince Minamimoto with as much a glare as he could muster. "How 'bout you save this for another time and I'll get back to you?"

"Not happening, Hectopascal. You and that factoring trinomial threw unexpected variables into my equation before I could calculate my desired solution." The smirk widened and the free hand was pulled back in a fist, ready to strike. "It was a minor miscalculation, but now that I've checked the facts, you're a variable easily factored out of the equation."

Neku couldn't hold back the flinch as he tightly closed his eyes and awaited the impact of the fist, even if he had defeated Minamimoto in the Underground, the Grim Heaper was obviously stronger than him in the physical sense.

The hit never came.

Instead, an irritated growl came from Minamimoto's throat and the hand holding him off the ground was shaking slightly as if strained. Neku chanced cracking open an eye only to see his attacker's attention at the opening of the alleyway, glaring down a figure standing there.

A ridiculously dressed figure.

Was that… a Guy Fawks mask? And what was with the black clothes, cloak, and conical hat? Last he checked, Halloween was a week ago and this guy was obviously late to the party.

But something about him had caught the Grim Heaper's attention -not that Neku could blame him, he was still trying to figure out what exactly the person was wearing- and Neku suddenly found himself dropping to the ground, a sore backside his only problem as Minamimoto took off towards the stranger.

Neku wasn't exactly sure what happened. Minamimoto struck at the shorter figure but they managed to side-step the attack, countering with a palm pressed to Minamimoto's chest and a shove to send the taller man flying into one of the walls. As the Grim Heaper was still recovering from the shock, a long dagger was produced from the stranger's belt and the tip held to Minamimoto's throat in victory.

A growl came from the Game Master's throat as he glared at the dagger before turning his gaze up to the masked stranger. They stayed like that for a while, Minamimoto glaring and the masked man unmoving, until the dagger was lowered and sheathed back in the belt.

That was when Minamimoto chose to strike.

Quickly standing, he drew back his fist and swung it at the stranger's mask. However, the man appeared to anticipate the attack and managed to sidestep the attempted assault once more. Thrown off balance, Minamimoto had no time to dodge the man's hand as it grabbed onto his forehead and slammed his cranium back against the wall.

Minamimoto crumpled back against the wall unconscious and Neku couldn't help but stare at the scene with wide-eyed amazement. He had never seen someone take down the Grim Heaper so effectively.

There was a soft laughter from the masked person as he turned to Neku, his voice low and slightly muffled from the mask, "'Spare the rod, spoil the child.' A fitting axiom for this situation, no?"

"Who are you?" Neku found himself asking as he stood from the ground, trying to gauge whether or not this person was dangerous.

"Who?" the man repeated in a curious tone with a tilt of his head, "Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask."

Neku gave the man a flat look, resisting the urge to smack his forehead from the statement. "I can see that."

"Of course you can," was the reply from the deeper voice, "I'm not questioning your powers of observation. I'm merely remarking upon the paradox of asking a masked man who he is."

The man was quickly reminding Neku of a certain Composer of Shibuya who so easily got under his skin. Maybe they're relatives? he mused with a dark smirk in the back of his mind, though pushed away the thought as the man started speaking again.

"But on this most auspicious of nights, permit me then, in lieu of the more commonplace sobriquet, to suggest the character of this dramatic persona."

Really, this man could pass as Josh's twin just from his ability to give Neku such a headache so quickly. As much as he preferred the man to stop talking and leave him alone, it seemed to Neku that he wouldn't be leaving the alley without hearing the explanation. So, with a quick rub to his temples, he gave the man a nod and reluctantly gave him his attention.

"Voila!" the man cried as he lifted his arms to spread the cloak and show off the set of daggers on either side of his belt; probably more for show than anything, Neku concluded.

"In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished."

Neku barely managed to force back a groan at the vocabulary onslaught and the dramatic arm movements the man appeared to like to use as he spoke. As if he wasn't late enough, why was he actually sticking around to listen to this man? For all he knew, he could be worse than the unconscious Grim Heaper over on the ground a few feet away…

"However," the man continued, unaware of Neku's inner-musings, "this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice, and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition."

While Neku's head was still swimming from translating the alliteration the masked man was fond of into normal speech, the words only seemed to rile the stranger. As he stopped to catch his breath, he quickly drew a dagger from his belt and sliced two slanted lines in a nearby Def March poster, making a messy "V."

Neku jumped at the sound of the dagger dragging along the brick wall, tensing slightly as the masked man slowly turned to look over his shoulder at the teen.

The man's voice was dark, tinged with anger and perhaps some insanity, "The only verdict is vengeance, a vendetta, held as a votive not in vain, for the value and veracity of such, shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous."

As the man slowly approached Neku, the latter took a few steps back, watching the man for any sudden movements. If he could take out Pi-Face, it was obvious Neku would be no match. However, the masked man stopped after a couple steps and laughed lightly, most likely at the worried expression growing on Neku's face.

Definitely somehow related to Josh… Neku crossed he arms and gave the man a stern look in an attempt to cover up his anxiety.

"Verily, the vichyssoise of verbiage veers more verbose," the man said with a shrug before reaching up to take the conical hat off his head and placing it to his chest, he deeply bowed. "So let me simply add that it's my verily good honor to meet you, and you may call me V."

Once the man rose from his bow and placed the hat atop his head once more, Neku had finally found his voice. "So… you're an escapee from the loony bin." It was a statement, not a question.

The man, V, laughed good-naturedly adjusting his hat before giving a small shrug, "I'm quite certain they'd say so. But to whom, might I ask, am I speaking?"

After mulling about it for a moment the teen relented, "It's Neku. And I'm seriously late getting home so if you're done talking, I need to get going."

"Of course, I will not deter you further, my good lad," with a small bow, V stepped out of the ex-player's way, allowing him room to pass by. "I assure you safe passage home without hindrance and a peaceful evening ahead. A good night to you."

Neku gave him a questioning look but shook it off, sprinting his way home without another glance at the man. And as promised, he arrived home without a problem; his mother had been sound asleep in her bed as he walked by her room. It looked like he had dodged that bullet.

~*~

Back in the alley, the masked man known as V knelt beside the still unconscious form of Minamimoto Sho as a vested man walked into the alley, rubbing the back of his neck with an easy grin on his lips.

"Have yer fun, J?"

V turned his head to the new arrival and stood, reaching up and pulling off the conical hat, wig, and mask to reveal his face to the man. Lavender eyes glinted with mischief and a knowing grin was on his lips, "It's 'V,' Sanae, but yes. Thanks to the voice changer in the mask, I'm sure Neku-kun will have quite a few questions about the 'asylum escapee' he met tonight. I will most certainly need to pay him a visit in the next few days."

He giggled, handing the items to the barista, before glancing over his shoulder at the unconscious Game Master. "Though, I must say, I was surprised when I found out he had run into Minamimoto. I was worried my actions would give myself away during the fight but it would seem Neku-kun didn't quite catch on."

Hanekoma grinned lightly, reaching over to tousle Josh's ash-blonde hair, "Just remember, this was a one time only deal, boss. Next time ya wanna borrow it, it'd better be for Halloween."

"Of course, you know I only use your devices for good," Josh responded, giggling again at the eye roll he received in return, glancing once more at Minamimoto before starting out of the alley. "Since I doubt Minamimoto will be too pleased to see me upon awakening, I'll take my leave here. I'm sure you can deal with him, Sanae."

"Sure thing, boss."

And with that, Shibuya's Composer disappeared into the Underground, most likely heading back to his home of the Shibuya River, leaving the barista alone.

With a small shake of his head, Hanekoma looked at the awakening Game Master shifting his gaze down to the mask smiling up at him in his hands, a chuckle escaping his throat, "Really, that kid is all play and no work."

#the world ends with you #twewy #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #joshua #yoshiya kiryu #neku #neku sakuraba #sanae hanekoma #sho minamimoto #v for vendetta #joshua kiryu #fanfic

[shrubbyscribe]

Dead Is The New Alive

It's unbeta'd so I apologize for any mistakes I might not have caught. I was inspired by this song, while writing this so I gave it kudos by making it my title.

What was it that led Josh to become a Player in the Game? Implied character death. 

~*~

Life held no meaning to him. Since his childhood, Joshua was well aware of this fact. Perhaps it was because of the specters, more commonly referred to as “Players” amongst themselves, that made him believe this. Or it could have been the voice constantly in the back of his head. Always promising something better awaiting him. And all he had to do was pick up that knife, point that gun at his head, misplace his step on the stairwell, ignore the “do not walk” sign, lean a little too far over the rooftop’s banister…

Joshua shook his head as he pulled away from his open window, ignoring the voice telling him to tumble out of it, and flopped onto his bed. As he stared up at the ceiling, the voice -deeper than his own and gravely around the edges- persisted. He was finding it more difficult to tune it out, the idea of being the ruler of the Players -the “Composer”- and immortality were starting to sound rather nice to Josh. He was only human, after all. And, as the voice so kindly put it, every human had a breaking point.

Tonight was possibly that night.

He tilted his head up to gaze over at his headboard, a few minutes stretching before he slowly slid his hand up the mattress and under the pillow resting further up the bed. His fingers brushed against cold metal and he pulled out the handgun he had “borrowed” from his parents. They had considered it misplaced and wouldn’t begin to think their sweet, innocent Yoshiya would take it. 

He allowed a smirk, something which felt a bit too comfortable, to grace his lips as he sat up and turned the pistol to and fro in his hand, examining each side of the it and gazing at his distorted reflection on the metal. 

It was loaded. Joshua had placed bullets in it the same night he had stolen it from his parent’s cabinet.

He watched his hands move almost on their own accord, taking off the safety and turning the barrel of the gun towards himself. He stared down the hole, pretending he could see the bullet at the end of it. He could hear it again, the voice urging him on, to move his finger to the trigger and start a hew life.

The gun drew closer and Josh closed his eyes -often mistaken for violet at first glance but that was impossible, right?- and jumped slightly as the cold metal bumped against his forehead.

Pull it. Stop acting as though you belong among humans.

He pried one eye open to glance over at his bedroom door. His parents were out for the night so only the neighbors would possibly hear it. Not that it would matter, he would still be found in a pool of blood and brain matter whenever someone happened upon him.

He grimaced at the thought and mental image that accompanied it. Lovely.

If he managed to beat the Game, perhaps he could return to this life. He held no animosity toward his parents, the voice wasn’t caused by them, they had done nothing but shower him with love since his birth. Yes, he would like to return to them, even if as a “Reaper.” It couldn’t be that difficult to manipulate memories.

Pull the trigger. Take you proper place.

It was getting louder, clearer. Josh’s hand was shaking. No, his entire body was trembling with fear and… anticipation? With one bullet, he was gambling his entire existence on whether or not it was real. The voices, the “Players,” everything he believed to this point. What if he was actually crazy and everything was just in his head?

And if it was real, one false move in the Game meant Erasure. No second chances after that…

The barrel shifted slightly against his temple, bringing him back to the present situation. His finger was on the trigger and the voice was demanding he pull it, the bed sheets awaiting his blood to spill upon them…

End it!

The sound of the gunshot was louder than he expected. It continued to ring in Joshua’s ears even as he had faded into the darkness. He knew he had fallen on his back more from common sense than actually feeling it. He was already gone before he had fallen half of the way. But as darkness encompassed him, the voice seemed to follow him. Even in death he couldn’t escape it. This time, though, it was his own voice; cruelly giggling in his ear and speaking only two words.

“Game Start.”

#The World Ends With You #Subarashiki Kono Sekai #Joshua #Yoshiya Kiryu #fanfic #joshua kiryu

[shrubbyscribe]

Stardust

This is an unbeta'd, semi-long ficlet I threw together to get me back in the writing habit so I'm sorry if there's any mistakes. It's about Spirit and Stein's time at the Academy. Also, I don't read Soul Eater anymore so I'm just going by what I remember. This was loosely based on the song Stardust by Sound Horizon, give it a listen if you want to understand my thought process while writing this.

~*~

Looking from the outside, it would be difficult to comprehend how the two could make a good match. Spirit was outgoing, wore his emotions on his sleeves (sometimes quite literally when the tears began to flow), and always managed to make friends wherever he ventured. Stein, on the other hand, was reserved and radiated a creepy aura quite often. Thus he was avoided by almost everyone when found alone. But after years of practice, the two had found a balance.

Just a light touch to Spirit’s arm or shoulder was usually enough to calm the redhead from one of his outbursts. In return, Stein was encouraged to join the conversations with their fellow classmates with a small nudge or a quip of words. His small bouts of insanity had also lessened with the Scythe there  to calm him down in his own way.

On their climb to reach their title of “Shibusen’s finest,” Stein had not been blind to the attention it brought them. For himself, those who once bullied him began to respect and even fear his abilities now that he had the results to show. For Spirit, he had gained more comrades and even more admirers. It was due to the latter group that Stein began keeping close to the Weapon, warding away other Meisters as well as females now vying for Spirit’s attention.

Yes, Spirit was turning into quite the ladies’ man. Not a day passed when he wouldn’t be approached or bombarded with letters with declarations of undying love. Much to Stein’s relief, Spirit had declined each proposition politely (it was difficult not to when Stein made himself both a physical and metaphorical obstacle between the Scythe and any girl). Never the less, Spirit was pleased the have so many girls openly chasing after him for once.

But Stein noticed one of the more persistent young women before Spirit. She was a talented Meister, second best to himself in the class, and often referred to as the most beautiful in the school. Stein couldn’t argue that much, she was very attractive once he took a good look at her. A small, slender build, soft and flowing hair, caring eyes, a gentle smile… It was no wonder she had earned the nickname “Kami,” her beauty could be compared to that of a goddess.

And it was at that point Stein realized how much he hated her.

She was a rival for possession of Spirit and it drove him mad know and seeing the looks she gave the Scythe. In passing, he would catch bits of her conversations, her want for Spirit as her own weapon often being the topic, and a warning and a challenge sent when the two Meisters’ eyes would meet.

As much as their silent battle raged on, once Spirit and himself collected their one-hundredth Soul, the choice of a new Meister would be up to Spirit. Now that Stein had tuned his wavelength, the Scythe could be handled by anyone capable of using such a weapon. And Kami was just as skilled as Stein in that category.

Even though Spirit had assured Stein that he would continue their partnership once he became a Death Scythe, it didn’t stop Stein from sticking close or sending a well hidden glare at the young woman if they passed her. Spirit belonged to him; mind, body, and soul. 

On or off the battlefield, it was obvious Stein’s mental and physical well-being was at the forefront of Spirit’s thoughts, the Weapon often inquiring about how he was feeling, even if most of the time it was to judge whether or not he’d be under the knife later on. Stein had been the only one capable of working with the redhead’s wild soul, no one else, Spirit pointed it out whenever Stein was feeling particularly low and emphasized how grateful he was for their partnership. And in regards to the ownership to Spirit’s body? Well, at this point, Stein was quite certain her knew every inch of it more than even Spirit himself.

Ah yes, each night of cutting open his partner always brought a smile to his lips. A gesture made possible by Spirit putting forth the effort to make Stein happy, even at his own expense. Stein enjoyed each incision made along Spirit’s body, the deep red blood that rivaled his partner’s hair trailing slowly along his skin. Such a beautiful sight was Spirit’s heart as it beat in his chest, pumping the crimson liquid through him. Yes, red was Stein’s favorite color and Spirit provided him with so much. The hair which only Stein was allowed to run his fingers through, his blood only meant for Stein’s eyes as far as he was concerned, and Spirit could even spill his enemies’ blood for him. It was never the same beautiful color as Spirit’s but it was the thought that counts.

Stein was sure of it, he hand found the love that no one else could have for Spirit. He loved the Scythe inside and out, there was no other words that came to mind other than “beautiful” when Stein gazed upon him. It was something Kami could never see or understand.

Spirit complained each morning he awoke to a new set of stitches but he never stayed mad for long. It was the way Stein was and there was not changing it, though that didn’t stop their small banter as they collected their last soul, the witch‘s. It had been a fairly vicious fight, Stein sporting a cut across his face and three deep gouges from the witch’s claws across Spirit’s back, both of their clothes tattered and worse for wear, but they had won in the end. Spirit could claim his spot as a Death Scythe and their fame would most likely surge again.

Stein could still remember that night clearly. They had collapsed down in the grass once Stein had stitched up the deeper wounds, both exhausted and coming down from the adrenaline high from the fight, both lost in their own thoughts to speak. Spirit, as usual, was the first to break the silence with a chuckle which caused Stein to look at him, the grass brushing his cheek.

“We can’t really see this many stars back home, huh?” It was more of a statement than a question but still odd coming from Spirit. Stein shrugged and turned his gaze back to the small silver dots filling the sky, keeping silent for a few minutes as he considered his words before speaking.

“It’s not possible with the lights of the city.”

“It’s a beautiful sight, don’t you think?”

“…I can think of better.”

Stein didn’t really see the appeal of stars; they couldn’t be physically dissected because they were billions of miles away. Completely useless in his opinion.

But when he felt Spirit’s hand find his, his appreciation for the night sky increased, even if for only that moment.

The following days hand passed as usual as possible for them. As had the following weeks. Upon their return, Stein gained many more admirers for his skills, though only from afar (he was still considered pretty creepy by his classmates and had a well-known insanity streak). Spirit had received the title of Death Scythe and had even more young women and scythe wielders falling at his feet, practically begging him to be their partner.

But this time, Kami was part of the attack.

As much as Stein hated to acknowledge it, Spirit was no different from the other males whom fell victim to Kami’s beauty and grace. Stein had tried to keep Spirit occupied but he had nothing to truly compete with the young woman’s way of twisting any man she desired around her finger. He had his abilities, familiarity with handling Spirit, and… nothing else. Even the feelings his held for Spirit, though it would be twisted even by his standard to call it “love,” were one-sided and it was obvious. To Spirit, he was his companion, his closest friend who had allowed Spirit to flourish and rise above and beyond everyone’s expectations. To think Stein would be considered anything more was pointless and only drove his mind into the darker corners.

It was inevitable their partnership would end one day, being a Death Scythe meant Spirit technically belonged to Shinigami-sama but he could still be wielded by someone else for the time being. Stein could still hold on to the hope Spirit would still choose him as he guaranteed so many years prior, before he had heard rumors that Kami was going to ask him to partner with her.

Stein was not surprised when Kami finally made her move the first time he was called away from Spirit’s side in a long time. He couldn’t ignore it; Shinigami-sama had requested to meet with him to check on the insanity still eating away at his conscious. Spirit could have accompanied him but Stein was informed he also had plans he couldn’t break and the two had promised to meet up that evening. The usual spot.

After the meeting with the city’s leader and finally an approval to leave, Stein wandered through the city, more than willing to take his time getting to the café he and Spirit so often would sit in front of and watch people come and go. Spirit would get restless after a while but Stein was comfortable staying there and studying the passing humans for hours on end. He was early, it wouldn’t bother him. As he passed a street, a faint blur of red caught the corner of his eye and caused the young Meister to pause and look properly. 

Further down the street, arms linked and pressed close to one another, Spirit and Kami were smiling and speaking softly to one another. The red of Spirit’s hair catching the setting sun’s color perfectly while Kami’s overall beauty only enhanced the sight, they looked like a pair of angels picked straight out of heaven and placed in front of Stein. 

His blood froze in his veins when Kami noticed him, a confident smile appearing on her lips before she paused and turned toward Spirit, the back of her fingertips brushing over his cheek as she reached up to thread her fingers through Spirit’s hair (the hair only Stein was allowed to touch), spokes a few soft words, and then pulled the taller man down into a kiss.

Stein’s blood boiled when Spirit willingly wrapped and arm around her slender waist and pulled her closer. It was something Stein had once vaguely dreamed of Spirit doing to him…

Never the less, he forced himself to go to their meet-up location. He sat there, simmering with anger and his mind teetering on the edge, but the moment he felt Spirit’s hand on his shoulder and the sound of his voice as he greeted him with a big, goofy smile, he felt it all melt away. He couldn’t stay mad at him when he was smiling like he was and talking so excitedly, even if the contents of his words were about his surprise date with Kami. It was the topic of the night even as they got back to their living quarters, Spirit flopping down on their beaten up couch and Stein taking his usual seat beside him, leaning back against his side with a book propped up on his bent legs. The redhead continued excitedly, an arm wrapped around Stein’s shoulders and playing with his hair occasionally as he spoke of Kami’s proposal that he choose her for his new partner. Stein couldn’t do much more than feign slight interest, allowing himself to become absorbed into the words of the book and humming or nodding his head when appropriate. 

Yes, they were the perfect picture of a synchronized pair. 

However a handful of days later, it all came to a halt when Spirit announced Kami to be his new Meister. Each word tore into Stein and his hands clenched at his sides as he watched Spirit pack his belongings, each piece of their partnership being placed in a box to be taken away from Stein and bared to Kami. 

Why? Why had he chose her? Why wasn’t Stein good enough? Why was Spirit leaving him? Why? Why? Why?

It was the only word running though his head. Spirit hadn’t left yet and the insanity was already moving in on him quickly. Though he understood and agreed with it from the logical point; Spirit could only benefit from having another partner, gain new experience from working with someone else. But it didn’t stop the questions running through his head or the feeling of being abandoned like he was once before by his parents.

Their farewell wasn’t the most heartfelt, Stein still wasn’t the best at showing emotion but Spirit cried enough for the both of them as he hugged the smaller Meister, nearly crushing Stein’s ribs as an endless stream of thanks, demands to keep in contact, and orders not to run around dissecting people tumbled out at once. Stein barely heard the words over the voices in his head as he hugged Spirit back, trying to pour what emotions he had learned to show into it and also attempting to memorize just the sound of his voice. If he was to guess correctly, Spirit and Kami would be leaving Shibusen to venture the world for a few years to gain further experience.

If he desired, Stein could have taken another Weapon for a partner, Marie had approached him a few times on the subject but he refused to take anyone else so soon. Instead, Shinigami-sama had a secluded area in the forest set aside for him, understanding his fragile state of mind. It was there that Stein perfected his hand-to-hand combat and was free to experiment and dissect any animal he desired without complaint. Every so often, Shinigami-sama would show up to deliver a new letter from Spirit as well as to check up on Stein’s well-being. His mental state had eventually leveled off after a while but he had chosen to remain alone in the woods. 

Stein never replied to the letter that told him of Spirit’s adventures, his growing relationship with Kami, their marriage, the things they should do together when they returned, the invitation to the baby shower… Spirit’s letters would go on and on about pointless things but it was obvious he knew of Stein’s seclusion and was attempting to keep him updated on what was going on in the outside world. Still caring so much about his past Meister even when he had no reason to. 

The thought alone was enough to lessen the voices for even a little while, and even though Stein refused to send a single letter back, he kept each one to be read on the nights when the sky was clear with only the moon and stars as his light.

#soul eater #Spirit #Franken Stein #Stein #Spirit/Stein